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THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

OUR NEW POSSESSIONS 
AND THE BRITISH ISLANDS 



By JOHN T. FARIS 

OLD ROADS 
OUT OF PHILADELPHIA 

117 ILLUSTRATIONS AND A MAP 
DECORATED CLOTH, OCTAVO, $4.00 NET 

The roads out of Philadelphia are the most historic 
in America. Such names as The Battle of Brandy- 
wine, Valley Forge and Militia Hill suggest the 
fascination of the roads leading from Philadelphia. 
The author presents the past and the present of 
ten of these highways: The King's Highway, The 
Baltimore Turnpike, The West Chester Road, The 
Lancaster Turnpike, The Gulph Road, The Ridge 
Road, The Germantown Turnpike, The Bethlehem 
Road, The Old York Road, and The Bristol Turn- 
pike. Profuse illustrations and a stimulating text 
make the book a prize for the walker, the auto- 
mobilist and the local historian. 

THE ROMANCE 
OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 

IN PREPARATION 
UNIFORM WITH THE ABOVE 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

OUR NEW POSSESSIONS 

AND THE BRITISH ISLANDS 



Wo>.<^ 



A.^^-; 



■.■<JX-' 



THEODOOR DEBOOY 



AND 



JOHN T. FARIS 



AUTHOR OF "old HOADS OUT OF PHILADELPHIA," "HEAL BTOBIES FBOM OUB 
HISTORY," "makers OF OUR HISTORY," ETC. 



WITH 97 ILLUSTRATIONS AND 5 MAPS 
ESPECIALLY PREPARED FOR THIS VOLUMB 




PHILADELPHIA & LONDON 
J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 

1918 






COPTBIGHT, 1 91 8, BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COUF^NY 



PUBLISHED MAY, I918 



To Replace loot copy 



f 



s 




x 



PRINTED BT J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANT 

AT THE WASHINGTON SQUARE PRB88 

PHILADELPHIA, U. S. A. 



PREFACE 

THE authors of this volume have tried to 
put into concise form the facts concern- 
ing the story, the present conditions and 
the possibiHties of the Virgin Islands of the United 
States for the tourist and the business man as 
well as for those who must be content, for the 
time being, at least, to make their journeys to 
the West Indies in imagination. At the same time, 
the attempt has been made to weave into the 
fascinating story something of the romance that 
cannot be separated from the thought of the islands 
in the mind of one who has had the pleasing experi- 
ence of spending in these newest possessions of the 
United States a winter that was the culmination 
of a number of seasons on other islands of the 
dreamy Caribbean. 

The absorbing history of the Virgin Islands is 
told in sufficient detail to enable the reader to 
understand by what a devious road they came at 
length into the possession of the country to which 
they logically belong. Without this historical 
setting it would be impossible to tell also of the 



PREFACE 

rise and decline of the commerce of the islands 
and of the reasons for the conviction that there 
is a great commercial future before them. 

The book would be incomplete without a 
chapter on the islands of the Virgin group which 
are under the flag of Great Britain. Then a 
chapter of definite suggestions to those who are 
planning a trip to St. Thomas, St. John and St. 
Croix is a needed supplement to the portions of 
the book which tell in detail of the attractions of 
the islands and of their great value as a resort for 
visitors from the United States, while a chapter of 
condensed agricultural, shipping and banking in- 
formation, quoted from the government documents, 
completes the volume. 

A careful study has been made of such litera- 
ture as has appeared on the islands. These publi- 
cations are described in the Bibliography. Facts 
gained from these sources supplemented the careful 
observations made by Mr. deBooy, who spent 
the winter of 1916-1917 on the islands while com- 
pelling them to yield the secrets of a vanished 
race which for centuries have been buried deep 
in the earth. The archeological work, of which 
glimpses are given in the volume, was conducted 
for the Museum of the American Indian, Heye 
4 



PREFACE 

Foundation, in which may be seen many specimens 
secured from the kitchen-middens of the Virgin 
Islands. 

Kitchen-middens are responsible for the prepa- 
ration of this volume. Having become interested 
some years ago in the waste heaps built up at 
pre-historic back doors which the archeologist 
calls kitchen-middens, I welcomed the opportunity 
to talk of these absorbing relics of the past pre- 
sented when I made the acquaintance of Mr. 
de Booy in the West Indies, where he has spent a 
number of winters in scientific exploration. His 
fascinating stories of experiences in the islands of 
the Caribbean led me to urge him to write this 
volume. He consented only on the condition that 
the book should be prepared jointly. 

The acknowledgments of the authors are due 
to the writers and publishers of the books and 
papers named in the Bibliography, as well as to the 
"Geographical Review," the "Scientific American 
Supplement" and "Forward," for permission to use 
illustrations which appeared first in these periodi- 
cals, as well as for portions of the material which 
accompanied the illustrations. 

The courtesy of E. M. Newman in granting 
the use, for the volume, of photographs taken by 

5 



PREFACE 

himself is acknowledged. Mr. Newman, at the 
time of the transfer of the islands from Denmark to 
the United States, was m Charlotte-Amalia, gath- 
ering material for "one of his famous travelogues. 
WilhamT. Demarest also has supplied a num- 
ber of photographs which he took in October, 1917. 
The authors thank him for his help. 

With the exception of photographs otherwise 
credited, all illustrations are from originals made 
in the islands by Mr. de Booy. 

Especial thanks are due to the American Geo- 
graphical Society of New York for the interest 
shown in the authors' undertaking. The splendid 
hbrary of this institution was freely placed at 
their disposal and the maps used in the volume 
were made and compiled under its careful super- 
vision. And grateful homage is paid to the kindly 
inhabitants of the former Danish West Indies, who 
know so well how to make a visitor in their midst 
feel at home, and to the Danish officials who ruled 
the islands when the Dannebrog still waved over 
them. 

p„„ r John T. Faris 

i'HiLADELPHiA, January, 1918 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. FROM DENMARK TO THE UNITED STATES . 15 

Nine nations in the West Indies — ^The story of the 
eUmination of Denmark — Why the treaty of 1867 
failed — ^The Dannebrog gives way to the Stars and 
Stripes — ^The value of the American purchase — 
Provision for the government of the islands — Future 
possible purchases and what they would mean to 
the United States and the Panama Canal. 

II. GLIMPSES OF FOUR HUNDRED YEARS . . 34 

The story told by old pottery — ^The naming of the 
islands — ^Natives attack the soldiers of Columbus 
— ^Extermination of the natives and the coming of 
Europeans — ^The emancipation of the slaves. 

III. ON BEAUTIFUL ST. THOMAS . 46 

Ups and downs of the first colonists — Governor 
Iversen's stringent regulations — ^When sugar dis- 
placed tobacco — "On the way to every other place'* 
— Bombarding a cliff instead of a ship — ^The color 
scheme of Charlotte-Amalia — ^The signalman's di- 
lemma — ^A healthy island's most fatal disease — ^The 
night of the hurricane. 

IV. RAMBLES ABOUT CHARLOTTE-AMALIA . 70 

Picturesque coal carriers — Why English is the popu- 
lar language — ^How the "reconciling-court" dis- 
courages fitigation — Churches and schools — Streets, 
gutters and hills — The fables of four hill tops — 
Buccaneers, Blackbeard and Bluebeard — ^Why the 
guns were fired — ^Hospitality and flowers — Water 
front activity. 

7 



CONTENTS 

V. THE ISLAND OF BEAUTIFUL VIEWS ... 98 

To "Ma Folic" on ponyback — ^Finding hidden 
treasures on the shores of Magens Bay — What the 
kitchen-middens revealed — ^An abandoned sugar 
estate and a ruined mission station — A hunters* 
paradise — ^More abandoned estates and a haunted 
ruin — Curious cemetery ornaments — ^The "grave- 
yard of ships" and a ghostly array of figure-heads 
— Escaping slaves and picturesque "cha-chas." 

VI. THE ROMANTIC STORY OF ST. JOHN ... 123 

In the days of Company rule — ^Adventures of the 
first settlers — ^Encouragements to growers of sugar- 
cane — ^The harsh measures that incited a slave 
insurrection — A captured fort, a siege relieved, and 
guerilla warfare — ^The aftermath of the rebellion 
— Increasing population. 

VII. AROUND ST. JOHN'S INDENTED COAST 

LINE 134 

The physical features of St. John — Marketing by 
sailboat — ^The naming of K. C. Bay — ^The mistake 
of the Coral Bay boomers — ^An attractive climate 
— ^An island whose prosperous days are in the future. 

VIII. THE CINDERELLA OF THE VIRGIN 
ISLANDS 144 

Reminders of former riches — Commercial and agri- 
cultural possibilities — The making of bay rum — 
Cattle raising and fishing — ^The story of the petro- 
glyphs — Scenery and ruins to delight the visitor — 
The cross at Reef Bay — ^Legends of slavery days 
— ^Treasures of old furniture — ^The possibilities of ^ 
St. John. 
8 



CONTENTS 

IX. THE CHECKERED HISTORY OF ST. CROIX 172 

Why the tongues of Sir Walter Raleigh's men 
became "bigge" — A subtle method of poisoning — 
A joint occupation that led to murder — ^A startling 
succession of owners, plots, and counterplots — A 
blufiP that succeeded — A visitor who died of morti- 
fication — A conflagration that promoted health — 
An abandoned island rescued by Denmark — A 
symbolic transfer of titles— Out of the clutches of 
an exploiting company. 

X. THE STORY OF LABOR ON ST. CROIX ... 190 

Slave insurrections — Freeing the slaves — ^The fight 
for unconditional freedom — ^Teaching the negroes 
to work— Quieting the rioters of 1878— Dealing 
with disgruntled laborers — Improving industrial 
conditions — Prosperity and increased wages — Giv- 
ing the natives their due — Physical features of the 
island — ^Remarkable fertility of the soil. 

XI. THE CHARACTER AND THE POSSIBILITIES 

OF ST. CROIX 200 

The hurricane of 1772— Alexander Hamilton's 
famous description — ^Sugar cultivation and sea- 
island cotton possibilities — Suggestions for increased 
production — Cattle raising and fine horses. 

XII. ON "THE GARDEN OF THE ANTILLES" . 211 

Frederiksted and Christiansted— The bustle of 
steamer day — Island communication, steamers and 
saiHng vessels — ^The romantic story of the Vigilant 
— Alexander Hamilton, the Christiansted clerk — 
Roads and motor cars — The ruins on the sugar 
plantations— Why deer are plenty — Columbus' tree- 
growing oysters — What the excavator learns from 

kitchen-middens. 

9 



CONTENTS 

XIII. A VISIT TO THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS 231 

Buccaneers and rebels — A ruler who is jack-of-all- 
trades — ^Tortola and the surrounding cays — Why 
the sailors of Jost Van Dyke drown — ^Victims of the 
proprietors — ^The attractions of Tortola — ^The di- 
verting story of Audain — Virgin Gorda and its 
peninsulas — ^Anegada,"the Drowned Island" — ^Men 
who live on shipwrecks. 

XIV. HINTS FOR THE TOURIST 247 

The clothing a man should carry with him — What 
the woman visitor needs — ^Why silks are useless — 
Routes and rates of fare — ^Hotels and boarding 
houses — Other advantages — ^The land where sou- 
venirs are unknown. 

XV. DETAILED AGRICULTURAL, COM- 
MERCIAL, SHIPPING AND BANKING 
INFORMATION 256 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 334 

INDEX ggg 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



PAGE 



View of Charlotte- Amalia Frontispiece 

United States Sailors Landing at Charlotte- 

Amalia 24 

Landing Dock, Charlotte- Amalia 25 

Cowell's Battery 30 

Christian's Fort, Charlotte-Amalia 30 

Christian's Fort, from the Harbor 31 

Danish Cruiser " Valkyrien" 31 

Mosquito Bay, St. Thomas 40 

Water Bay and Native 40 

Aboriginal Pottery 41 

North Coast of St. Thomas 41 

St. Thomas Harbor and Charlotte-Amalia 52 

Entrance to St. Thomas Harbor 53 

Front Entrance of Christian's Fort 58 

Signal Station, Top of Cowell's Battery 58 

Battlements of Christian's Fort 59 

Coaling Wharf of the West India Company, Ltd. 59 

Canaan Estate House, after the Hurricane 68 

Hamburg- American Line Offices and Dredge, "St. 

Hilda" 68 

Firing Time-Gun Battery, Charlotte-Amalia 69 

Lutheran Church, Charlotte-Amalia 69 

Blackbeard's Castle (wood-cut in text) 69 

A Hilly Street, Charlotte-Amalia 72 

Typical Coal Carriers, Charlotte-Amalia 73 

Custom House and Post Office, Charlotte-Amalia 73 

Reformed Dutch Church, Charlotte-Amalia 78 

11 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Christ Church, Wesleyan, Charlotte- Amalia 78 

Memorial Church, Moravian, Charlotte- Amalia . . 79 
All Saints' Anglican Church, Charlotte- Amalia . . 79 
Ballroom, Governor's Residence, Charlotte- 

Amalia 82 

Residence of Governor and Administration Build- 
ing, Charlotte-Amalia 83 

Old Residence and Gateway, Charlotte-Amalia . . 98 

Panoramic View of St. Thomas Harbor 99 

Mountain Path Leading to Ma Folie, St. Thomas . . 102 

Panoramic View of Magens Bay, St. Thomas 103 

Cross Section of Aboriginal Mound, Magens Bay, 

St. Thomas 106 

King Road, Near Magens Bay 106 

Clearing Land by Fire, Magens Bay 107 

Laborers Excavating, Magens Bay 107 

Ruins of Stairway, New Hernhut, St. Thomas... 110 

Ruins of New Hernhut HO 

Rums OF Mandal Estate, St. Thomas Hi 

Negro Fishing with Casting Net m 

A "Gut" and Street Made Like a Stairway, St. 

Thomas hq 

Native Grave Ornamented with Conch Shells, 

St. Thomas Hg 

Figure-Heads in Krum Bay Shipyard 117 

Krum Bay with Shipyard and Coconut Trees De- 
stroyed BY Hurricane 117 

Cruz Bay Settlement and Government Station. . . 124 

Moravian Settlement of Emmaus, St. John 125 

Ruin of K. C. Bay Sugar Estate, St. John 136 

Fort Frederiksted, St. Croix 136 

Coral Bay, Tortola (British) in Distance 137 

Ram's Head, South Coast, St. John 148 

East End, St. John I49 

12 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Bat-oil Still, St, John 149 

Hospitable Congo Cay, St. John 156 

The Only Landing Place on Congo Cay 156 

Privateer Bay, St. John 157 

Buildings on Caroline Estate and Bay-oil Still, 

St. John 157 

Petroglyphs on Congo Cay 164 

The Caroline Estate, House and Pasture, St. John 164 
The Cross That is Not a Cross, Reef Bay, St. John 165 

Indian Petroglyphs, Reef Bay 165 

Wharf and Old Fort, Coral Bay, St. John 170 

Hermitage Estate, St. John 170 

A Native Family 188 

Danish Sugar Mill, St. Croix 189 

A School in St. Croix 189 

Street Scene in Frederiksted 201 

Wharf, Christiansted, St. Croix 212 

Wharf with Cargo from Coaling Steamer, St. 

Croix 213 

Street in Frederiksted, St. Croix 218 

Lutheran Church and Adjoining Houses, 

Christiansted, St. Croix 219 

Schooner "Vigilant" at Wharf, Christiansted, 

St. Croix 219 

Reef at Mouth of Salt River, St. Croix 226 

Roots of Mangrove Tree, with Oysters, Salt 

River 226 

Aboriginal Pottery Vessel as Found in the Earth 227 
Typical Old Watch House on Sugar Estate, St. 

Croix 227 

Panoramic View from St. John of Jost Van Dyke 

and Tortola Islands (British) 232 

Bays on North Coast of St. John, with Thatch 

Island and Jost Van Dyke (British) in Distance 233 

13 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

The British Island of Tortola, from St. John . . . 242 

Turn-out with Native Driver 243 

North Coast of St. Thomas, with Thatch Island 
AND British Islands of Tobago and Little 
Tobago in Distance 243 

Bluebeard's Castle at Top of Luchetti's Hill, 

Charlotte-Amalia, St. Thomas 248 

The Barracks, Charlotte-Amalia 248 

In the Market Place, Charlotte-Amalia 249 

Governor's Residence on Government Hill, 

Charlotte-Amalia 252 

Grand Hotel, Charlotte-Amalia 253 

The Main Street, Charlotte-Amalia 260 

A Business Street in Charlotte-Amalia 261 

On the Shore, Charlotte-Amalia 266 

U. S. S. "Itasca," on the Floating Dock, St. Thomas 267 

Street in Front of Government House, Charlotte- 
Amalia 267 

Water Front Entrance to Christian's Fort, and 
Balcony of Residence in the Fort, Charlotte- 
Amalia 272 

Road in Front of Christian's Fort and Typical 

St. Thomas Cab, Charlotte-Amalia 273 

Colonial Bank and Main Street, Charlotte- 
Amalia 273 

The Market Place, Charlotte-Amalia 276. 

MAPS 

FACING PAGE 

The West Indies 15 

The Virgin Islands 35 

St. Thomas 47 

St. John 135 

St. Croix 173 



242 
243 



243 



248 

m 

253 
260 
261 
266 
267 

267 




THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

CHAPTER I 
FROM DENMARK TO THE UNITED STATES 

NINE NATIONS IN THE WEST INDIES— THE STORY OF THE 
ELIMINATION OF DENMARK— WHY THE TREATY OF 1867 
FAILED— THE DANNEBROG GIVES WAY TO THE STARS AND 
STRIPES— THE VALUE OF THE AMERICAN PURCHASE— PRO- 
VISION FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE ISLANDS— FUTURE 
POSSIBLE PURCHASES AND WHAT THEY WOULD MEAN TO 
THE UNITED STATES AND THE PANAMA CANAL 

UNTIL 1898 nine nations were represented 
in the West Indies. Of these, Spain, 
Great Britain, France, the Netherlands 
and Denmark were European nations; Hayti, 
Santo Domingo, Venezuela and the United States, 
were American nations. The latter two are in- 
cluded in this list, as the peninsula of Florida may 
rightly be said to belong to the Antillean area, 
whereas Venezuela can claim to belong to the 
West Indies by the fact that it owns the islands 
of Margarita, Coche, Cubagua, and a few other 
unimportant cays, all of which lie in the Caribbean 
Sea. 

On the conclusion of the Spanish-American 
war, the United States took the place of Spain in 

15 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

Porto Rico, and a new nation, the Republic of 
Cuba, was created. By the ceding of its American 
colonial possessions, Spain was eliminated as a 
European nation holding colonies in the American 
hemisphere. 

On March 31, 1917, the United States took 
formal possession of the Danish West Indies, by 
far the larger portion of the Virgin Islands. The 
history of the sale and the transfer of these islands 
is somewhat involved. 

During the Civil War in the United States the 
lack of a naval station in the West Indies was a 
serious hindrance to those who sought to prevent 
the blockade-running of the Southern States. 
Consequently, on the conclusion of the war, 
American diplomats sought to secure a stronghold 
in the Caribbean. The Danish West Indies were 
chosen as a likely spot, partly because it was felt 
that Denmark — owing to the reverses which this 
small nation had undergone, and the losses which 
she had suffered in her war with Prussia — might 
be induced to welcome the sale with open arms. 
Mr. Seward, who was then Secretary of State of 
the United States, secured a preliminary survey 
of the islands in 1866. After a personal visit he 
16 



FROM DENMARK TO UNITED STATES 

seemed more determined than ever to obtain 
St. Thomas and St. John for the United States, 
and he was prepared to pay for these islands 
$5,000,000. St. Croix was regarded as a separate 
venture, and was offered for a like amount, on 
condition that the government of France, which 
might object to the sale owing to the conditions 
of a treaty made in 1733, should allow the 
transfer to take place. 

At last, in October 1867, a treaty was concluded 
for the purchase of St. Thomas and St. John for 
$7,500,000, subject to the consent of both the 
Danish Landsthing (Senate) and the Senate of the 
United States. A popular vote was taken on the 
islands to see if the inhabitants were desirous of 
transferring their allegiance to a new flag. When 
the returns were counted the inhabitants, by the 
practically unanimous vote of 1244 to 22, showed 
their approval of the proposed transfer. The 
Danish Parliament then consented to the treaty, 
and nothing was required to complete the sale 
but a ratification by the United States Senate. 

In fact, the proposed sale seemed so certain 
that on November 27, 1867, the following royal 
proclamation appeared in the St. Thomas "Tid- 
2 17 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

ende," the paper wliich published the oflScial 
government notices: 

We, Christian the Ninth, 

By the Grace of God, King of Denmark, the Van- 
dals and the Goths, Duke of Sleswig, Holstein, Storn- 
mam, Ditmarsh, Lauenborg and Oldenborg. Send to 
Our beloved and faithful Subjects in the Islands of 
St. Thomas and St. John Our Royal Greeting. 

We have resolved to cede Our Islands of St. Thomas 
and St. John to the United States of America, and We 
have to that end, with the reservation of the consti- 
tutional consent of Our Rigsdag, concluded a conven- 
tion with the President of the United States. We have, 
by embodying in that convention explicit and precise 
provisions, done Our utmost to secure to You protec- 
tion in Your liberty. Your religion. Your property and 
private rights, and You shall be free to remain where 
you now reside, or to remain, retaining the property 
which You possess in the said Islands or disposing 
thereof and removing the proceeds wherever You 
please, without Your being subjected on this account 
to any contribution, charge, or tax whatever. 

Those who shall prefer to remain in the Islands, 

may either retain the title and the rights of their natural 

allegiance or acquire those of Citizens of the United 

States, but they shall make their choice within two 

18 



FROM DENMARK TO UNITED STATES 

ears from the date of the exchange of ratifications of 
aid convention, and those who shall remain on the 
slands after the expiration of that term without having 
eclared their intention to retain their natural allegi- 
nce, shall be considered to have chosen to become 
itizens of the United States. 

As We, however, will not exercise any constraint over 
)ur faithful subjects. We will give You the opportunity 
f freely and extensively expressing your wishes in regard 
o this cession, and We have to that effect given the nec- 
ssary instructions to Our Commissioners Extraordinary. 

With sincere sorrow do we look forward to the 
evering of those ties which for many years have united 
fou to Us, and never forgetting those many demon- 
trations of loyalty and affection We have received 
rom You, We trust that nothing has been neglected 
n Our side to secure the future welfare of Our beloved 
nd faithful Subjects, and that a mighty impulse, both 
aoral and material, will be given to the happy develop- 
aent of the Islands, under the new Sovereignty. 

Commending you to God ! 

Given at Our Palace of Amalienborg, the 25th 

October 1867. 

Under Our Royal Hand and Seal. 

Christian R. 

L. S. 

Royal Proclamation to the Inhabitants of 

St. Thomas and St. John. 

19 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

But the treaty was deliberately pigeon-holed 
in the Senate, owing to internal dissent for which 
Senator Charles Sumner was principally respon- 
sible, probably at least in part, because of his 
personal enmity towards President Johnson. Den- 
mark granted an extension of time for the ratifi- 
cation of the sale, but the matter was not again 
taken up, despite the efforts of Secretary Seward 
and of his successor. Secretary Fish. Finally, on 
April 14, 1870, the proposed treaty lapsed 
automatically. 

The Danish king made a dignified proclamation 
announcing that the sale of the islands had fallen 
through : 

We, Christian the Ninth, 

By the grace of God, King of Denmark, the Van- 
dals and the Goths, Duke of Sleswig, Holstein, Storn- 
mam, Ditmarsh, Lauenborg and Oldenborg, send to 
Our beloved and faithful subjects in the Islands of St. 
Thomas and St. John, Our Royal Greeting. 

You are aware of the motives that actuated Us 
at the time to give ear to the repeated and urgent 
requests of the North American Government for the 
cession of St. Thomas and St. John to the United States. 
We expected that We, in that manner, should have 
20 



FROM DENMARK TO UNITED STATES 

been able to lighten Our realm of the heavy burdens 
incurred by the then recently terminated war, and We 
hoped that the annexation to the United States would 
have afforded the islands advantages so important that 
they could have contributed to soothe the pain which 
a separation necessarily must cause in the Colonies, 
no less than in the Mother Country. You, for your 
part, and the Danish Diet, on the part of the King- 
dom, have concurred in these views, and We all met 
in the mutual readiness to accommodate ourselves 
to what appeared to Us to be recommended by the 
circumstances. 

Unexpected obstacles have arisen to the realization 
of this idea, and released Us from Our pledged word. 
The American Senate has not shown itself willing to 
maintain the treaty made, although the initiative for 
it proceeded from the United States themselves. Ready 
as We were to subdue the feelings of Our heart, when 
We thought that duty bade Us so to do, yet We cannot 
otherwise than feel a satisfaction that circumstances 
have relieved Us from making a sacrifice which, not- 
withstanding the advantages held out, would always 
have been painful to Us. We are convinced that You 
share these sentiments and that it is with a lightened 
heart You are relieved from the consent, which only 
at Our request you gave to a separation of the islands 
from the Danish crown. 

21 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

In, therefore, making known to you tliat the Con- 
vention made on the 24th of October, 1867, for the 
cession of the Islands of St. Thomas and St. John to 
the United States of America, has become void. We 
entertain the firm beHef that Our Government, sup- 
ported by your own active endeavors will succeed in 
promoting the interest of the islands and by degrees 
efface all remembrances of the misfortunes which, of 
late years, have so sadly befallen the islands. To this 
end We pray Almighty God to give Us strength and 
wisdom. 

Commending You to God ! 

Done at Our Palace at Amalienborg, the 7th May, 

1870. 
Christian R. 
L. S. 

A writer in the "Review of Reviews," refer- 
ring to the disappointing failure of 1867, said: 

*'If we had purchased the islands at that time, 
our influence in the West Indies would have grown 
in such a way that it is reasonable to believe that 
we could subsequently have purchased Cuba from 
Spain, and thus averted two or three wars, and 
much misery." 

Not until after the Spanish-American war was 

the purchase of these islands again seriously con- 
22 



FROM DENMARK TO UNITED STATES 

sidered. Once more the United States had felt 
the need of a naval station in the Caribbean. 
Consequently, another treaty was negotiated, in 
January, 1902. Owing to the efforts of President 
Roosevelt and Secretary of State John Hay, this 
treaty was promptly ratified by the United States 
Senate. The Folkething (Lower House) of Den- 
mark readily gave its consent to the proposed sale 
of the islands for $5,000,000, but the Upper House 
of the Danish Parliament failed to vote in favor of 
confirmation. It has generally been thought that 
German influence was responsible for the failure 
to sanction this treaty. Possibly the German 
government itself hoped, at some time or other, to 
obtain a foothold in the West Indies. 

While there were in 1911 and 1912 attempts 
to renew interest in the purchase, nothing came 
of these. Not until the latter part of 1916 was 
another determined effort made to induce the 
Danes to cede the islands. For the three principal 
islands and their outlying cays $25,000,000 was 
offered. A popular vote of the Danish people 
was taken in December, to see if it was their wish 
to give up Denmark's only tropical colony. As 
the cost of governing these islands had become 

23 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

far greater than the revenues derived from them, 
and as the Danes were forced to admit that the 
inhabitants of the Dutch West Indies were them- 
selves greatly in favor of the transfer, 283,000 
voted for the ratification of the treaty while 
157,000 were opposed to the sale. This favorable 
vote was hailed with great joy in St. Thomas and 
St. Croix. 

The islands finally came into the possession 
of the United States on January 17, 1917, when 
Secretary of State Lansing and Minister Brun of 
Denmark signed the ratification of the treaty of 
cession. 

In this ratification it was stipulated that the 
islands would be taken over within ninety days. 
The final act was staged on March 31, 1917, when 
the Dannebrog (the official name of the Danish 
flag) was replaced by the Stars and Stripes. It 
was the original intention that this change of flags 
should take place with great ceremony, but the 
exigencies of the international situation, and the 
fact that the break of the United States with 
Germany had just taken place, made a popular 
demonstration inadvisable, and the plans made 
by the Assistant Secretary of the Navy to assist 
24 



FROM DENMARK TO UNITED STATES 

in the celebration with part of the United States 
Atlantic Squadron were cancelled. But, in spite 
of the comparative lack of ceremony, the lowering 
of the Dannebrog and the hoisting in its stead of 
the Stars and Stripes was an impressive event, an 
event which every thinking American should 
regard with pride. Once again the adherents of 
the Monroe Doctrine rejoiced in the acquisition 
of additional territory, needed to promote the peace 
of the world, and one more European nationality 
ceased to be represented in the complex political 
scheme of the Antilles. 

While the transfer of the islands was not viewed 
with imiversal joy by their inhabitants, it can be 
said safely that fully ninety per cent, of the natives 
were only too glad to be adopted by the American 
government. They were not dissatisfied by the 
treatment that had been accorded them under 
Danish rule, for the government by the Danish 
officials had been benevolent and paternal; but 
Denmark was far away, and — especially in the 
last three years when regular communication with 
Europe was hard to maintain — a long time was 
required to consult the home government on 
matters of importance, and to bring about neces- 

25 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

saiy improvements in local affairs. They felt that 
under the rule of the United States any public 
business could be attended to speedily. Further- 
more, practically all the commerce of St. Thomas 
was with the United States, and the imports from 
the mother country were but a negligible item. 
The St. Thomians were more used to American 
customs and manners than they were to those of 
Denmark, owing to the frequent visits of American 
ships to the shores of the island. In St. Croix, 
also, it was felt that adoption by the United States 
would give a new impetus to the sugar industry, 
that there would be a new development of all her 
latent resources, and that there would be an outlet 
to Porto Rico for her surplus population. 

It was of course a sad thing for the Danish 
government to view the lowering of the Dannebrog 
which, with but two short intervals in the nine- 
teenth century, had proudly waved for two and 
one-half centuries over the little group of islands. 
Yet it was the wish of Denmark not to stand in 
the way of the prosperity of its colonial dependents. 
While there will undoubtedly be a few who will 
regard with disfavor the innovations that will 

be introduced by the United States, the majority 
26 



FROM DENMARK TO UNITED STATES 

will be grateful that the uncertainty which began 
in 1866 and lasted until 1917, is now ended for 
all time. 

It was left to the present inhabitants of the 
islands to decide whether or not they wished to 
become citizens of the United States. Those who, 
within one year of the date of transfer, should 
signify their desire to do so, would remain subjects 
of the Danish King. All others would automatic- 
ally become citizens of the United States, having 
all the rights and privileges of this status. 

According to the National Geographic Society 
of Washington, the total area of the three principal 
islands acquired by the United States is 132.47 
square miles. With the cays and rocks that form 
part of the group, the area might possibly be as 
much as 150 square miles. The population has 
been variously stated as being from 30,000 to 
33,000, of whom about ten per cent, are white. 
A study of earlier statistics shows that the popu- 
lation has decreased greatly during the century. 
In 1828 there were 46,000 inhabitants, but by 
1841 this total had dropped to 41,000. 

Because of their situation, the islands are the 
logical distributing center for goods destined for 

27 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

the Lesser Antilles and they have long been a 
shipping point of some importance. In the days 
before the European war, a number of Inter- 
Colonial steamers called at the ports of St. Thomas 
and St. Croix and connected the towns of these 
islands not only with the Leeward Islands but 
also with Porto Rico, Santo Domingo, Hayti, Cuba 
and Jamaica. 

That this value of the islands as a shipping 
center was well realized when their purchase was 
considered, is shown by the report of Secretary 
of State Lansing, transmitted to Congress on 
January 22, 1917. In this report he said: 

*'The commercial value of the islands cannot 
be doubted. Lying in close proximity to many of 
the passages into the Caribbean Sea, the use of 
St. Thomas harbor as a stopping station for 
merchant ships plying between the United States 
and South America, and for vessels in other trades, 
is of great importance." 

Though the United States took over the islands 
at a cost of about three hundred dollars per acre, 
there is no doubt that, from all points of view 
their value is incalculable. It is more than prob- 
able that the revenues derived from them will 
28 



FROM DENMARK TO UNITED STATES 

suffice to pay the cost of their government, and 
none of these revenues are to be expended upon 
matters not directly related to the local govern- 
ment. The act providing for the temporary gov- 
ernment specifically states that debts and taxes 
collected on the Virgin Islands of the United States 
shall not be placed in the treasury of the United 
States, but shall be used and expended for the 
government and benefit of the islands. 

The government of the islands will not be 
expensive. The form has already been fixed. In 
the language of "an act to provide temporary 
government for the West Indian Islands acquired 
by the United States from Denmark," "all mili- 
tary, civil and judicial powers . . . shall be vested 
ii^ a governor and in such person or persons as 
the President may appoint and shall be exercised 
in such manner as the President shall direct until 
Congress shall provide for the government of said 
islands." The governor, who may be an officer 
of the army or navy, is appointed by the Presi- 
dent, subject to senatorial confirmation. The 
first governor appointed was an officer of the navy. 
Rear Admiral James H. Oliver. 

Election laws and local laws are to remain in 

29 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

effect and are to be administered by the local 
tribunals. Judicial tribunals have their jurisdic- 
tion extended to cases in which the United States 
or a citizen is a party. 

Under the new customs regulations, no duty 
is charged on articles coming into the United States 
from the islands, providing they are native prod- 
ucts or do not contain more than twenty per cent, 
of foreign materials. All other articles pay the 
same duty as imports from foreign countries. 
Sugar pays an export duty of eight dollars per 
ton, regardless of its ultimate destination. 

The elimination of the Danish nation as a 
power in the Antilles left the flags of but three 
European nations in the Caribbean: those of 
Great Britain, of France and of the Netherlands. 
It is not inconceivable that Great Britain, at 
some future time, may be induced to cede to the 
United States some of her islands in the Caribbean. 
The Bahamas, for instance, are to-day in very 
much the same position as were the Danish islands 
during the twenty years before the transfer. They 
depend upon the United States for the majority 
of their imports and for a market for their exports. 
The tourist resort of Nassau, on the Island of New 
30 



W" 




COWELLS BATTERY AND ENTRANCE OP ST. THOMAS HARBOR 




CHRISTIAN S FORT AND THE HARBOR FROM GOVERNMENT HILL 
CHARLOTTE- AMALIA 



CHRISTIAN S FORT FROM THE HARBOR, CHARLOTTE-AMALIA, ST. THOMAS 




DANISH CRUISER VALKTRIEN IN ST. THOMAS HARBOR 



FROM DENMARK TO UNITED STATES 

Providence, is visited almost exclusively by Ameri- 
cans and would lose its only claim to importance 
if the revenue from this source were cut off. This 
condition is well appreciated by the Bahamians 
themselves; they would, in all probability, welcome 
adoption by the United States, for their fruits 
would find a duty-free market and thus the one 
agricultural possibility of the islands would be 
given an encouraging impetus. Jamaica, while 
having more intercourse with Great Britain, prac- 
tically depends upon the United States for the 
sale of her entire banana crop; where one steamer 
communicates with England, ten seek the nearer 
ports of the North American continent. It must 
be understood, however, that the sale of any of 
the British West Indies is but a remote possibility, 
although within the bounds of probability. 

A far more probable purchase would be that 
of the Dutch islands of the West Indies. The pos- 
sessions of the Netherlands in the Caribbean are a 
loss to the government and a menace to the mother 
country. In the event of war between the United 
States and one of the larger European nations, the 
first hostile act on the part of the latter might 
well prove to be the violation of Dutch neutrality 

31 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

by the seizure of the island of Curagao, which 
possesses an excellent naval station and a well 
protected harbor. Such seizure would be a serious 
menace to the safety of the Panama Canal, and 
there might be far-reaching consequences. If, on 
the other hand, the United States had Curagao 
in its possession, the approach to the Panama 
Canal, by way of the southern channels of the 
Lesser Antilles, would be safeguarded. This also 
applies to the Dutch islands of St. Martin, Saba, 
and St. Eustatius in the northern group of the 
Leeward Islands; should these come under the 
United States flag, the entire range of islands from 
the Florida coast to the mainland of South America 
would be dominated by the American navy. 

A glance at the map of the Caribbean will 
reveal the truth of this statement. The Guan- 
tanamo naval base on the southern coast of the 
eastern part of Cuba can control not only the 
Florida Straits, between Florida and Cuba, but 
also the Windward Passage between Cuba and 
Hayti. A fleet stationed at Culebra Island and 
at St. Thomas could give battle to any squadron 
that should try to force its way through the Mona 
Passage, between Santo Domingo and Porto Rico, 
32 



FROM DENMARK TO UNITED STATES 

or through the Virgin Passage, separating Porto 
Rico from the Virgin Islands. This same fleet 
would also be in a position to protect the passages 
due east from the Island of St. John. 

From the Island of Barbuda to the Island of 
Trinidad, however, can be found some twelve deep 
water channels, which, in the event of war with 
a maritime nation, would require a patrol fleet of 
almost prohibitive size to give warning of the 
approach of a hostile fleet. 

If, therefore, the United States can prevail 
upon the Dutch government to sell her West Indian 
possessions, not only would the sale be to the 
advantage of Holland, since it would relieve her 
of her unproductive colonies in the Caribbean, 
and would remove the menace of having these 
colonies seized by a European nation, but also the 
strategic importance of the naval station to be 
established by the United States on the former 
Danish West Indies would be materially increased. 
A chain of defenses could thus be thrown around 
the Panama Canal that would afford complete 
protection from all the Atlantic approaches. 



3 33 



CHAPTER II 
GLIMPSES OF FOUR HUNDRED YEARS 

THE STORY TOLD BY OLD POTTERY— THE NAMING OF THE 
ISLANDS— NATIVES ATTACK THE SOLDIERS OF COLUMBUS 
—EXTERMINATION OF THE NATIVES AND THE COMING OF 
ELTIOPEANS- THE EMANCIPATION OF THE SLAVES 

THE story of the Virgin Islands of the 
United States may be told in three 
parts. First comes their record until 
their settlement by European natives in the seven- 
teenth century. Next is the period of European 
settlement, until 1733, when, on the purchase of 
St. Croix from France, the three islands were 
joined under one government. From that date 
the history of the islands can be described as a 
whole. 

Before the discovery of the Virgin Island group 
by Columbus, these islands were inhabited by 
a warrior nation of aborigines. The Museum of 
the American Indian, Heye Foundation, of New 
York City, was the first institution to devote itself 
to an archeological survey of the three islands 
under discussion. This museum has devoted a 
large amount of its energy to furthering archeo- 
logical work in the West Indies. 
34 



~^wy 






GLIMPSES OF FOUR HUNDRED YEARS 

It was found necessary to gather some data 
and pre-Columbian specimens from St. Thomas, 
St. John and St. Croix, in order to enable students 
of the pre-Columbian occupation of the Antilles 
to make a comparative study of the remains of 
the primitive r^ces that at one time inhabited this 
region. The researches proved that they had been 
inhabited by tribes that made long voyages for 
purposes of trading, or for purposes of warfare, 
practically throughout the West Indies. 

In the excavations conducted by the museum 
expedition, the finding of some of the so-called 
" coUarstones " proved that voyages to Porto Rico 
were undertaken, for these highly ornamented stone 
objects up to the present time have been found only 
on Porto Rico and Santo Domingo, and assuredly 
could not have belonged to the low cultural devel- 
opment that must have existed on both St. Thomas 
and St. Croix. The presence of a grotesquely 
carved "swallowing-stick" in the aboriginal de- 
posits suggested a communication with Santo 
Domingo, where the native priests used sticks of 
this character in their ceremonies. 

That voyages were possibly undertaken even to 

Jamaica, was suggested by the finding in an aborig- 

35 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

inal deposit on St. Croix of a cylindrical stone 
ornament, specimens of this kind being more 
typical of Jamaican culture than of the culture of 
the other Antillean islands. Again, some painted 
postsherds typical of the South American cultural 
area proved that pre-Columbian communication 
had been held between St. Croix and either Trini- 
dad or the northern coast of Venezuela. 

It is hardly likely that the tribes inhabiting 
St. Thomas and St. Croix made these voyages for 
purposes of barter or of peaceful intercourse. 
Probably they undertook extensive voyages in 
order to wage war upon the more peaceful Arawak 
tribes who inhabited the other Antillean islands, 
and the specimens found must have been secured 
by force of arms rather than by trading. 

If the intercourse with the islands to the west 

had been of a peaceful nature, it is probable that 

the Indians would have adopted some of the 

technique of the potter's art from their neighbors. 

As it is, the pottery from St. Thomas and St. 

Croix — and the Museum of the American Indian, 

Heye Foundation, has some six thousand specimens 

in all from these islands — bears not the slightest 

resemblance to the pottery of Jamaica, Porto Rico, 
36 



GLIMPSES OF FOUR HUNDRED YEARS 

Santo Domingo or Cuba. It is, in fact, the crudest 
pottery from the West Indies and of a kind typical 
of a nation of pirates and warriors, who found no 
leisure to devote themselves to an attempt at 
ornamentation of their household utensils. 

There is another way of deciding that the 
Indians who originally inhabited St. Thomas must 
have been not only warriors but of the same race 
as those on St. Croix, for the St. Thomas pottery 
shows an absolute resemblance to the specimens 
from St. Croix, and history says that the St. Croix 
Indians were warriors. Columbus found them so, 
to his sorrow, for when he sent soldiers ashore for 
purposes of exploration the Indians attempted to 
repel the visitors by force. 

When Columbus was on his second voyage of 
discovery, in 1493, he came to the island of St. 
Croix, after first touching at a number of the 
Leeward Islands. The story of the visit, as told 
by Washington Irving, after an examination of 
the letters and diaries of Columbus, is full of 
interest; 

"The weather proving boisterous, he anchored 
on the 14th [of November] at an island called 
Ayay by the Indians, but to which he gave the 

37 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

name of Santa Cruz. A boat well manned was 
sent on shore to get water and procure informa- 
tion. They found a village, deserted by the men; 
but secured a few women and boys, most of them 
captives from other islands. They soon had an 
instance of Carib courage and ferocity. While at 
the village they beheld a canoe from a distant part 
of the island come around a point of land, and 
arrive in view of the ships. The Indians in the 
canoe, two of whom were females, remained gazing 
in mute amazement at the ships, and were so 
entranced that the boat stole close upon them 
before they perceived it. Seizing their paddles 
they attempted to escape, but the boat being 
between them and the land, cut off their retreat. 
They now caught up their bows and arrows, and 
plied them with amazing vigor and rapidity. The 
Spaniards covered themselves with their bucklers, 
but two of them were quickly wounded. The 
women fought as fiercely as the men, and one of 
them sent an arrow with such force that it passed 
through and through a buckler. 

"The Spaniards now ran their boat against the 
canoe, and overturned it; some of the savages got 
upon sunken rocks, others discharged their arrows 
38 



GLIMPSES OF FOUR HUNDRED YEARS 

while swimming, as dexterously as though they 
had been upon firm land. It was with the utmost 
difficulty they could be overcome and taken: one 
of them who had been transfixed with a lance, 
died soon after being brought aboard the ships. 
One of the women, from the obedience and defer- 
ence paid to her, appeared to be their queen. 
She was accompanied by her son, a young man 
strongly made, with a frowning brow and Hon's 
face. He had been wounded in the conflict. The 
hair of these savages was long and coarse, their 
eyes were encircled with paint, so as to give them 
a hideous expression; and bands of cotton were 
bound firmly above and below the muscular parts 
of the arms and legs, so as to cause them to swell 
to a disproportioned size; a custom prevalent 
among various tribes of the New World. Though 
captives in chains, and in the power of their 
enemies, they still retained a frowning brow and 
an air of defiance. Peter Martyr, who often went 
to see them in Spain, declares, from his own 
experience, and that of others who accompanied 
him, that it was impossible to look at them without 
a sensation of horror; so menacing and terrible 
was their aspect. The sensation was doubtless 

39 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

caused in a great measure by the idea of their 
being cannibals. In this skirmish, according to 
the same writer, the Indians used poisoned arrows; 
and one of the Spaniards died within a few days, 
of a wound received from one of the females. 

"Pursuing his voyage, Columbus soon came in 
sight of a great cluster of islands, some verdant 
and covered with forests, but the greater part 
naked and sterile, rising into craggy mountains; 
with rocks of a bright azure color, and some of a 
glistering white. These, with his usual vivacity 
of imagination, he supposed to contain mines of 
rich metals and precious stones. The islands 
lying close together, with the sea beating roughly 
in the narrow channels which divided them, 
rendered it dangerous to enter among them with 
the large ships. Columbus sent in a small caravel 
with lateen sails, to reconnoitre, which returned 
with the report that there were upwards of fifty 
islands, apparently inhabited. To the largest of 
this group he gave the name of Santa Ursula, and 
called the others the Eleven Thousand Virgins." 
It has frequently been suggested that the Island 
of Virgin Gorda is the one originally named St. 
Ursula, but it is more likely that either St. Thomas 
40 



. v^i~y^in, «irr»?is-jK J. . ^ 





MOSQUITO BAY, ST. THOMAS 
Saba Island, and Dove Cay in Distance 




WATER BAY AXD NATIVE BRINGING IN FODDER 



FROM THATCH CAY, ST. THOMAS 




ABORIGINAL POTTERY DRYING IN THE SUN 




NORTH COAST OF ST. THOMAS, OUTER BRASS AND INNER BRASS ISLANDS 



GLIMPSES OF FOUR HUNDRED YEARS 

or St. John was the one named after St. Ursula. 
In voyaging from St. Croix either of the latter 
islands would be first sighted by a navigator and, 
as Columbus was on a voyage of discovery, he would 
probably investigate and name the first island seen. 

It should be noted that, geographically, St. 
Croix does not belong to the Virgin Islands, but 
that from common usage it has been included under 
this name. 

It has frequently been stated that the encounter 
between the soldiers of Columbus and the Indians 
on St. Croix led to the first blood-shed in the New 
World between the conquistadors and the aborig- 
ines. But an encounter took place during the 
first voyage of Columbus in 1492, when he dis- 
covered Samana Bay, on the Island of Hispaniola. 
This bay, in fact, was named by the Admiral the 
Bay of Arrows, in commemoration of the event. 
St. Croix, therefore, cannot lay claim to the 
doubtful honor of having been the first battlefield 
in the New World. 

No trustworthy records have been discovered 
of the ultimate fate of the aboriginal inhabitants 
of St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John. Possibly 
a statement made by the German historian, Olden- 

41 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

dorp, may afford a clue. He says that, about 1555, 
the Indians were driven away from the Virgin 
Islands by Charles V of Spain, the Emperor having 
ordered that they be treated as enemies and 
exterminated. But was not Oldendorp speaking 
of the Island of St. Croix, and not of the true 
Virgin Islands group, when he made this state- 
ment? It is much more likely that such inhabi- 
tants as may have lived upon the Virgin Islands 
after their discovery were taken as slaves, and 
made to work the mines on Hispaniola after the 
labor supply of this latter island had become 
exhausted. But even if Oldendorp's statement is 
founded on fact, it does not necessarily imply that 
the extermination of the Indians was completely 
carried out. Nevertheless, when the Danish, 
Dutch and French settlers arrived on these islands, 
at different times in the seventeenth century, no 
Indians were found on them. 

It was due to the efforts of the Museum of the 
American Indian, Heye Foundation, that a few 
of the problems regarding the pre-Columbian 
inhabitants of this little group of islands have 
been solved, and short mention will be made of 
the archeological work done under the auspices of 
42 



GLIMPSES OF FOUR HUNDRED YEARS 

this institution when the history of each island 
is discussed. 

After the visit of the Spanish squadron under 
Columbus, history takes but little note of the 
islands. This silence continued through most of 
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Probably 
the dread in which they were held by the early 
navigators had a great deal to do with the silence. 
A sailing vessel caught in the strong currents which 
eddy between the rocks and shoals of the islands, 
might find great difficulty in extricating itself, 
especially in days when there were no charts of 
these waters. 

An indication of the fear with which the seas 
surrounding the Virgin Islands were regarded was 
given by the Earl of Cumberland, who, m 1596, 
while on his way to take Porto Rico, said that 
"he would rather be the first to take Porto Rico, 
than the second to pass through the Virgines." 
The first to pass this way was Sir Francis Drake, 
who, in 1580, sailed through what was later known 
as the Drake Channel between the islands. The 
Earl of Cumberland mentioned at the same time 
that the islands were "wholly uninhabited, sandy, 
barren, and craggy." 

43 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

The first mention of settlers on any of the 
Virgin Islands was made in 1625, when St. Croix 
was colonized. St. Thomas remained uninhabited 
for even a longer time, there being no record of 
Europeans on this island until 1666. St. John was 
not colonized until 1684. 

Each of these islands has its individual history 
until 1733, when the Island of St. Croix was pur- 
chased from France for the sum of seventy-five 
thousand pounds by the Danish West India 
and Guinea Company. Holdings of this company 
were sold to the Danish Crown in 1754, and a 
commercial policy was instituted which was re- 
sponsible for the new prosperity. 

St. Thomas was thrown open as a free port m 
1764 with certain restrictions to ships from Euro- 
pean ports, though these restrictions were partially 
removed in 1767. In 1815 the trade of St. Thomas 
and St. John became free from all restrictions, 
and European ships were allowed to enter on 
equal terms with those from America. St. Croix, 
on the other hand, was not opened to international 
commerce until 1833. 

Little occurred to interest the student of inter- 
national affairs until the British fleet under Admiral 
U 



GLIMPSES OF FOUR HUNDRED YEARS 

Duckworth and General Trigg captured the islands 
on April 1, 1801. A Httle before this time Den- 
mark and Norway had allied themselves with 
France, and England was not slow in seizing the 
Danish colonial possessions in retaliation. The 
islands were held until February 22, 1802, and 
were restored to Denmark by the Treaty of Amiens. 

In 1807 affairs between Great Britain and 
France once more came to a crisis, and on Decem- 
ber 22 the islands were captured by the British 
under Admiral Cochrane and General Bowyer. They 
continued under British rule until April 15, 1815. 
They were then restored by Great Britain, which 
took the Danish island of Heligoland in exchange. 

Since 1815 the islands have not been involved 
in international affairs, and their history is but a 
record of fires, hurricanes and slave rebellions. The 
chief events of this period came in 1847, when 
King Christian VIII passed certain laws for the 
future emancipation of slaves, and in 1848, when 
slavery was abolished throughout the Danish West 
Indies after an uprising of the slaves of St. Croix. 
Thus freedom came to the islands fifteen years 
before the Emancipation Proclamation put an end 
to slavery in the United States. 

45 



CHAPTER III 
ON BEAUTIFUL ST. THOMAS 

UPS AND DOWNS OF THE FIRST COLONISTS— GOVERNOR 
IVERSEN'S STRINGENT REGULATIONS— WHEN SUGAR DIS- 
PLACED TOBACCO— "ON THE WAY TO EVERY OTHER 
PLACE."— BOMBARDING A CLIFF INSTEAD OF A SHIP— THE 
COLOR SCHEME OF CHARLOTTE-AMALIA— THE SIGNAL- 
MAN'S DILEMMA— A HEALTHY ISLAND'S MOST FATAL 
DISEASE— THE NIGHT OF THE HURRICANE 

WHILE there are no trustworthy records 
that tell of the first settlement of St. 
Thomas, it is generally believed that 
there was a colony on the island at some time 
before 1647. In 1647 a small company of French 
settlers from the nearby Crab Island made their 
way to St. Thomas, after the destruction of their 
plantations and the burning of their ships by 
Spanish soldiers. The perilous voyage was made 
in frail canoes. Upon their arrival on St. Thomas 
these refugees found abandoned groves of lemons, 
oranges and bananas, which helped to keep them 
from starvation. It is reasonable to suppose that 
these groves were planted during the short occupa- 
tion of St. Thomas by Dutch buccaneers, who 
afterward settled on St. Martin and St. Eustatius. 
46 



ON BEAUTIFUL ST. THOMAS 

St. Thomas next appears on the records as 
having been the burial place of one Erik Schmidt, 
who arrived on the ship Eendracht, in 1666. This 
vessel probably brought supplies to Dutch settlers 
who had taken up their abode there at some time 
between 1657 and 1666. Soon a number of these 
people, learning of the great prosperity of the new 
colony of New Amsterdam, now New York, took 
their departure for the village on the Hudson. In 
1667 the remainder were forced to leave St. 
Thomas. At that time St. Thomas, St. Martin 
and St. Eustatius were captured by the British, 
and the captors insisted upon the removal of the 
St. Thomas colonists to the latter two islands, 
owing to their greater fertility. 

The island once abandoned, it was an easy 
matter for the newly-formed Danish West India 
and Guinea Company to claim St. Thomas, in 
1667, as a trading-post, in spite of protests from 
Great Britain, which claimed the island by right 
of conquest. This objection was not followed up 
by any serious measures, and preparations were 
made in Denmark to found a colony on St. Thomas. 

On August 31, 1671, the first ship, the Golden 
Crown, was dispatched from Copenhagen, while 

47 



THE VmGIN ISLANDS 

less than three months later the Pharaoh followed. 
On this vessel came Jorgen Iversen, the new gov- 
ernor, to whom had been given full power to repre- 
sent Danish authority. When the Pharaoh arrived, 
on May 23, 1672, a few colonists were already 
established. These were principally Dutch planters 
who had returned from the islands of St. Martin 
and St. Eustatius to reclaim their former holdings 
on St. Thomas. With them were a few negro 
slaves. 

It cannot be said that the early Danish colonists 
were of high character. In fact, they resembled 
the criminal type of sailors, who, upon being 
granted pardon for former offenses, were induced 
to accompany Columbus on his first voyage of 
discovery. There were also among the first set- 
tlers a number of Danes who, in order to settle 
pressing debts and to escape imprisonment by their 
creditors, had sold themselves for service in the 
colony. Men of this class were hardly promis- 
ing material for the founding of a prosperous 
settlement. 

When Governor Iversen reached the scene of 
his labors he was compelled to adopt stern meas- 
ures to force his subjects to fulfil their contracts 
48 



ON BEAUTIFUL ST. THOMAS 

and attend to their duties. His first official act 
was the building of a fort, which was probably 
commenced in 1672. It became the residence not 
only of the governor, but also of the Lutheran 
pastor who accompanied the expedition. Part of 
this fort is included in the present Christian's Fort 
at Charlotte- Amalia. 

That Governor Iversen ruled the new colony 
with an iron hand is revealed by some of his proc- 
lamations. He commanded everybody to attend 
service in the fort every Sunday, the penalty for 
failure to attend being twenty-five pounds of 
tobacco. There was also provision for a fine of 
fifty pounds of tobacco for the performance by 
the servants of the settlers of unnecessary Sunday 
work. All householders were obhged to keep in 
their homes arms for defense and a sufficient sup- 
ply of powder and ball, there being a penalty of 
one hundred pounds of tobacco for failure to do so. 
Specific warnings were to be given in case of attack 
from an enemy. Drills were held every Saturday 
afternoon in favorable weather, and there were 
fines for non-attendance. Departure from the 
island without permission of the governor was also 
punished with a fine, although the proclamation 
^- 49 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

did not state how this fine could be collected, once 
the transgressor had departed. Servants must not 
leave their masters, and if they made a practice 
of running away, they were to be held in irons until 
they were broken of the habit. 

The growing of tobacco was the chief occupa- 
tion of these early colonists, and it is likely that 
this commodity was the principal article of export. 
The raising of cattle was an industry of such im- 
portance that the colonists lived in a constant 
state of alarm because of the raids made upon 
their pastures by the Spaniards from Porto Rico 
and the buccaneers of Tortola. It is therefore not 
strange that Governor Iversen provided for the 
arming of his followers; the Danes had every reason 
to guard themselves from molestation by inhabi- 
tants of other islands. Even the Spaniards from 
Porto Rico took part in the campaign against these 
early Danes, and they succeeded in capturing Crab 
Island, over which Governor Iversen first claimed 
sovereignty in 1682. Two years later, the place of 
Crab Island was taken by St. John, which was 
then added to the island realm of which Iversen 
was governor. St. Croix did not become a part of 
the Danish possessions until 1733. 
50 



ON BEAUTIFUL St! THOMAS 

Difficulties of another sort were not lacking. 
A labor shortage was soon felt. The Danish ser- 
vants proved unsatisfactory, and the slaves who 
belonged to Dutch landowners did not supply the 
demand for workmen. Word of this condition of 
affairs was sent to the home government in Copen- 
hagen, and prompt measures were taken to meet 
the colony's needs. The Danish West India and 
Guinea Company purchased land on the Gold 
Coast of Africa and erected two forts. With these 
forts as a base, the servants of the company con- 
ducted operations which insured a constant supply 
of slaves for the Antillean colony. 

In 1685 the Danish West India Company found 
its means too limited to furnish a sufficient number 
of ships for the transportation of the necessary 
slaves to St. Thomas to supply the agricultural 
needs of the landowners, and for the carrying of 
the exports from this island back to the native 
country. An arrangement was therefore made with 
the Duchy of Brandenburg to operate a factory 
on St. Thomas. 

The result is what might have been expected, 
for soon after the erection of the Brandenburg 
Company's trading station, the Danish West India 

51 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

Company found that it was losing a large amount 
of its trade to the new enterprise. As a conse- 
quence there was much jealousy between the com- 
panies, and the older organization longed to cancel 
the rights given to the Brandenburg Company. 
This could not be done, however, for the term of the 
contract ran until 1716. It was fortunate that a 
period could not be put earlier to the new com- 
pany's privileges, for it was due to the efforts of 
this company that sugar cane supplanted tobacco 
plantations. In those days the price of sugar was. 
extremely high. Thus, while the Danish West 
India Company was the loser by the transaction, 
the island of St. Thomas was materially benefited. 
At one time the affairs of the Danish West 
India Company were at such a low ebb that in 
1690 the Danish king was compelled to rent the 
entire colony of St. Thomas, with the exception 
of the holdings of the Brandenburg Company, to a 
man named Thormohlen, probably in order to 
secure to him the liens which he held upon the 
property. The lease was for a period of ten years, 
and Thormohlen was obliged by the terms of his 
contract to maintain during this time a garrison. 
The soldiers of this garrison arrived in 169^, and 
52 




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ON BEAUTIFUL ST. THOMAS 

these were the first regular troops to be stationed 
in Christian's Fort. 

St. Thomas lies in latitude 18 degrees 20 
minutes N. and longitude 64 degrees 55 minutes 
W., and is but forty miles from Porto Rico and 
twenty-five miles from the island of Culebra. A 
vessel going from St. Thomas to Porto Rico is 
always sheltered by the cays lying between the 
islands. Even small craft are generally safe in 
making the passage. Owing to the prevailing 
easterly trade winds, it is easier to go from St. 
Thomas to Porto Rico in a sailing vessel than it is 
to return by the same means; while it not infre- 
quently takes but five hours to go from Charlotte- 
Amalia to the port of Fajardo on the east coast of 
Porto Rico, the return voyage has been known to 
take from two to three days. This difference is 
partly due to the strong currents running between 
the islands which offer a serious impediment when 
the wind is light. 

The island is admirably situated for communi- 
cation with other ports. It is on a direct line be- 
tween Europe and the entrance to the Panama 
Canal. Furthermore, vessels plying between the 
Atlantic ports of North America and the Atlantic 

53 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

ports of South America must pass directly by the 
island, which is situated fourteen hundred miles 
from New York, one thousand miles from Colon 
and five hundred miles from La Guaira, the chief 
port of the Republic of Venezuela. Thus the enthu^ 
siastic traveler was not far wrong who said that St. 
Thomas is "the place which is on the way to every 
other place." He justified this description by adding: 
"When the sailor lays his course for any part 
of the Caribbean Sea, the tip of his horny finger 
points to St. Thomas. To call the Httle island the. 
gateway of the Caribbean is not poetic fancy. The 
shortest and best course from England to any 
Central American port, for steamer or sail, is by 
St. Thomas. For the finer from the United States 
to Brazil, the most convenient port of call is St. 
Thomas. To go from the Greater to the Lesser 
Antilles, one goes by way of St. Thomas. Nature 
has given this half-way house of the sea a prestige 
that even the commercial supremacy of Barbadoes 
has not overshadowed." 

St. Thomas is surrounded by seventeen islands 

and cays and by an innumerable number of rocks. 

The islands and cays are mostly very small, the 

largest being Water Island, which is two and one- 

54 



ON BEAUTIFUL ST. THOMAS 

half miles long and three-fourths of a mile wide, 
and Hans Lollik, one and one-half miles long and 
one mile wide. Most of these cays are rocky and 
elevated, and all are uninhabited, with the excep- 
tion of Water Island and Thatch Cay. 

Perhaps the most remarkable of the cays is a 
small island called Sail Rock, so called because 
this mountainous rock when viewed from the east- 
ward has the exact appearance of a vessel under 
sail. There is a tradition that there was once an 
engagement between a French frigate and this 
httle island. In the night the commanding officer 
of the frigate ran close to Sail Rock, which he took 
for a privateersman. He hailed the supposed ship, 
and the echoes from the rock returned the hail. 
Receiving no satisfactory answer from the "pri- 
vateersman," the commander gave orders to fire. 
The echoes returned the noise of the cannonade. 
As the frigate was very close to Sail Rock, some of 
the cannon balls ricochetted and gave the impres- 
sion that the adversary was giving battle. It is 
said that the engagement continued for some hours. 
Not until dawn did the commander of the frigate 
realize his mistake and retire from the scene in 
mortification. 

55 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

The length of St. Thomas is thirteen miles, 
while its average width is about two miles. The 
area is 28.25 square miles, or about eighteen thou- 
sand acres, of which only about five hundred acres 
are under cultivation, while possibly two thousand 
acres are used for pasturage. The island is really 
nothing more than a range of hills running east 
and west, with branching spurs. There is prac- 
tically no level land. The highest elevation toward 
the western part of the island, is 1515 feet. This 
hill is called West Mountain. The next highest 
peak. Signal Hill, in the center of the island, has 
an elevation of 1500 feet. 

While the island is not as well watered as St. 
John — which has the largest water supply of the 
three islands, probably owing to the presence of 
forests, which are absent on both St. Thomas and 
St. Croix — there are a number of springs on the 
northern side. An absolute water shortage, such 
as is occasionally experienced on some of the smaller 
Antillean islands, has not been known to occur 
here. There is but one small stream, and this 
loses itself in the hills; probably it finds an outlet 
to the sea through a fissure in the rocks. 

According to geologists, the island is composed 
56 



ON BEAUTIFUL ST. THOMAS 

for the most part of a mass of Trappean rocks of 
various colors, and these rocks contain many veins 
of quartz which can be observed wherever a cut 
has been made in the rocks along the road. Much 
of the rock has decomposed, and is still decompos- 
ing into yellow or reddish clay. The aborigines 
made their pottery from this clay. In places the 
rock also decomposes into a whitish marl. 

With the exception of red ochre, there are no 
known minerals on St. Thomas. In a few places 
can be seen the white coraline limestone so typical 
of the western Antilles. 

While the agriculturist can obtain remarkable 
results because of the wonderful climate and a 
fairly equable rainfall, the soil in most places is 
thin and it is liable to be washed from the hill 
slopes on which it is found. 

It is more than likely that St. Thomas at one 
time was covered with dense forests, but none of 
these remain today. The trees were probably 
felled by the earlier settlers and the valuable woods 
found in them were sold or used for the local manu- 
facture of furniture. 

St. Thomas harbor is located on the southern 
side of the island, and its entrance faces almost 

67 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

due south. The mouth is fairly narrow, although 
its width of nine hundred feet is ample for large 
vessels. After passing through the narrow en- 
trance, the harbor gradually expands into a large, 
circular bowl some two miles in diameter. A 
somewhat fanciful geological theory claims that 
the harbor is formed by the crater of a submerged, 
extinct volcano. This theory has been suggested 
more because of the shape of the harbor basin than 
because of the evidence of geological formation. 

For many years, navigators found it difficult 
to locate the southern shore of St. Thomas during 
the night, and they were compelled to wait for 
daybreak before entering the harbor. Since the 
erection of a lighthouse on Buck Island, passage 
in the night has become possible, but even now the 
services of the pilot who meets ships outside the 
harbor entrance are needed. 

A traveler once gave the following true and 
picturesque description of the first sight of Char- 
lotte- Amalia by the tourist who enters the harbor: 

"The view from deck, as the ship creeps into 

the anchorage, is the most charming in the West 

Indies. The bay lacks the great sweep of Algiers, 

but it has the same mountain background, the 

68 











FRONT ENTRANCE OF CHRISTIAN S FORT FROM 
COURTYARD INSIDE 




SIGNAL STATION, TOP OF COWELL's BATTERY 




BATTLEMENTS OF CHRISTIAN S FORT AND BLACKBEARD 8 

CASTLE ON TOP OF GOVERNMENT HILL, CHARLOTTE- 

AMALIA, ST. THOMAS 





COALING WHARF OF THE WEST INDIA COMPANY, LTD., CHARLOTTE-AMALIA 

Destroyed October 9, 1916 



ON BEAUTIFUL ST. THOMAS 

same glorious blue of sea and sky. The village, 
blue and orange and yellow and red, recalls 
some of the coast towns of Italy. The garden 
walls of the hillside villas shine out dazzlingly 
white against the luxurious green of the tropical 
fohage. The ruins of Bluebeard's castle above 
the town — a landmark of the old days of the 
buccaneer — ^present the only touch of gray. The 
rest is a riot of color. Most striking of all is the 
gaudy red Danish fortress down by the water 
front. I have never seen so red a building. At 
first it is glaring and unpleasant, but after a time 
one's eyes become accustomed to the new scale of 
color values which the intense sun of the tropics 
requires. And the bizarre glory of the fort — which 
would be unspeakably offensive in a gray mantle 
— seems to be not out of place in the color scheme 
of St. Thomas. The town of Charlotte-Amalia 
has taken the atmosphere of Algiers and the gor- 
geous coloring of Venice, rolled them into one, and 
reduced it to miniature." 

On passing the harbor's mouth, one is imme- 
diately reminded by Cowell's Battery of the British 
occupation of 1801 and 1802. This battery was 
erected by Colonel Coweil during this period. It 

59 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

was constructed upon the highest elevation of 
Hassel Island. Nearby lie buried the soldiers who 
died during the occupation. On the shore, below 
the hill, are the remains of an early Danish strong- 
hold, which antedates the British fortifications. 
Near the old Danish fort is the gaily painted pow- 
der magazine, which was used as a storehouse for 
explosives during the latter days of the Danish 
occupation. 

To-day, Cowell's Battery is used as a signal 
station, and it is from here that the inhabitants of 
Charlotte-Amalia learn of the coming of vessels 
to St. Thomas Harbor. A mast with a yard-arm 
serves to support the semaphore and a number of 
wicker balls. The positions of the balls and of the 
semaphore arms indicate whether an incoming ship 
is a sailing vessel, a steamer or a man-of-war, its 
nationality and the direction from which it is 
coming. Without this signal station, a number of 
the inhabitants of Charlotte-Amalia would be de- 
prived of their chief interest, and their greatest 
source of gossip. 

The citizens say that at one time a Siamese 
man-of-war called at St. Thomas in order to obtain 
a supply of coal for its bunkers. On seeing the 
60 



ON BEAUTIFUL ST. THOMAS 

ship approach, the watchman on the signal hill did 
not find in his signal book any instructions inform- 
ing him what position to give the balls and the 
semaphore for a man-of-war of this nationality. 
In desperation, he rigged up his signal mast with 
all the wicker spheres he happened to have on hand. 
Naturally the people became greatly excited and 
made all sorts of hurried preparations for inter- 
national festivities, for they thought that the com- 
bined navies of the world were coming to visit 
their Httle island. 

One of the most interesting excursions on St. 
Thomas may be taken by rowboat to Cowell's 
Point, and thence up the hill upon which the 
battery is located. The existence on the rocks 
below the signal stiition of a large sign which adver- 
tises the bay rum of a local manufacturer, does 
much to spoil an otherwise perfect view. During 
the hurricane of October, 1916, the sign was blown 
down, but this offensive eyesore to all visitors 
approaching St. Thomas Harbor has unfortunately 
been restored. 

Directly opposite Hassel Island, on Muhlenfel's 
Point, is the quarantine station. This, happily, is 
seldom needed for its intended purpose. When no 

61 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

patients are residing there, it is occasionally rented 
out to picnic parties from Charlotte-Amalia. This 
is a delightful spot for a temporary sojourn, for 
the sea bathing here is the best on the island. 

The harbor of St. Thomas presents little diflB- 
culty to navigation. The few obstructions beneath 
the surface have been marked by buoys, while the 
rocks which extend above sea level have been care- 
fully whitewashed. A number of range-lights also 
protect the harbor and serve to keep the incoming 
ship in its proper channel. The harbor is land- 
locked, and the safety of ships in the harbor is 
jeopardized only when the dreaded West Indian 
hurricanes strike St. Thomas from a southerly 
direction. 

But for the hurricanes St. Thomas would be an 
earthly paradise. The chmate is healthy for new- 
comers, even for those who are unaccustomed to 
the tropics, and it is especially enjoyable during 
the winter months. The greatest heat is felt in 
August, September and October, but even then 
the thermometer seldom goes above 91 degrees 
Fahrenheit, while the average temperature is 84 
degrees Fahrenheit. In winter the temperature 
occasionally drops as low as 67 degrees, and the 
62 



'^ 



ON BEAUTIFUL ST. THOMAS 

nights are so chilly that it is necessary to sleep 
under a blanket. 

The rainfall is not excessive; it averages about 
forty-seven inches per year. May, August, Sep- 
tember, October and November are the rainy 
months, but it is not unusual for a drought to 
prevail for six or even nine months. Such a pro- 
longed drought is generally followed by severe rains. 

Though this is not true of the majority of West 
Indian islands, the air of St. Thomas is bracing. 
Probably this is due to the fact that the island is 
directly exposed to the Atlantic Ocean on the 
north, so that it feels the cooling effects of this 
large body of water rather than the tropical heat 
radiated by the Caribbean Sea. For invalids and 
for people of delicate constitution, the equable 
climate is especially suitable, and many wonderful 
cures have been credited to the island. All that 
is necessary in many cases is simply to live long 
enough in the bracing climate. 

Aside from scorpions and centipedes, there are 
no poisonous animals, and no intending visitor 
need fear the presence of the usual venomous in- 
sects of the tropics. There are no snakes of any 
variety. Land crabs are the chief annoyance. 

63 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

Thanks to the efforts of the government, there are 
few mosquitos in the town itself, although occa- 
sionally sand-flies and mosquitos make life a burden 
in other parts of the island, especially in the rainy 
season. 

Once the general sanitary conditions of Char- 
lotte-Amalia were not entirely satisfactory, but 
these have been greatly improved by the blasting 
of a channel through the "Haul-over" peninsula 
which connects Hassel Island with the mainland 
of St. Thomas. This channel permits a current of 
water to circulate through the harbor. Formerly 
the waters which washed the shores of the town 
became stagnant at times and the imperceptible 
flow of the ebb and flood tide was not sufficient to 
carry off the refuse which was emptied in the bay. 
In consequence, there were a number of typhoid 
fever epidemics. Since the opening of the new 
channel, there has been no more difficulty. 

Nowadays there are no epidemics in Charlotte- 
Amalia, owing to the efficient medical inspection 
and the stringent quarantine laws and regulations 
made for vessels which enter from infected ports 
and the efficient medical inspection. The death 
rate of the island is remarkably low, and its inhab- 
64 



ON BEAUTIFUL ST. THOMAS 

itants generally seem to die from one disease only, 
a disease for which no cure has been found— old age. 
Hurricanes will always be the principal draw- 
back to residence in the West Indies, and St. 
Thomas does not escape them. Many times the 
island has been visited by these destructive storms. 
In 1713, in 1738, in 1742, in 1772, in 1793, in 1819, 
in 1837, in 1867 and again in 1916, tropical storms 
passed over the little island and caused an incred- 
ible amount of destruction. These storms are 
regarded with such dread that it is the custom of 
the people, at the commencement of the hurricane 
season, to offer prayers that their island may 
escape from the horrors of the tempests. At the 
end of the season, they betake themselves to their 
churches and give thanks that the period of danger 
has been safely passed. 

The last hurricane, on the night of October 9, 
1916, was perhaps one of the most destructive ever 
experienced. The smaller negro cabins were bodily 
blown from their foundations and smashed to 
pieces against other buildings or trees. Few houses 
escaped without the loss of their roofs or damage 
of some kind. That Httle loss of life accompanied 
the hurricanes was a miracle, for the galvanized 
^ 65 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

iron sheets which formed the roof coverings of the 
houses were hurled through the air Hke projectiles. 
The rain which accompanied the hurricane in many 
instances did more damage than the wind itself, 
and the stocks of a number of merchants were 
totally ruined. Trees which for many decades had 
been the pride of the town were uprooted. Elec- 
tric Hght poles, branches of trees, pieces of gutter- 
ing, spouts and tiles from the roofs, filled the 
pubHc thoroughfares with a tangled mass of debris. 
In the harbor the Danish bark Thor was wrecked 
on the rocks near Cowell's Battery. The St. Hilda 
dredge was taken up bodily and placed alongside 
the landing wharf in three feet of water. The 
Hamburg- American liner Calabria^ which had been 
anchored in the harbor since the beginning of the 
European War, was thrown on the rocks east of 
the wharf with practically her entire bottom 
ripped out. The Wasgenwald, owned by the same 
company, was torn from her moorings and driven 
ashore, but the vessel managed to pull herself off 
with but shght injuries. The motor ship Anholt 
was thrown high and dry on the beach. A number 
of sailing vessels foundered in the harbor. Two large 
electric conveyers of the Danish West India Com- 
66 



ON BEAUTIFUL ST. THOMAS 

pany were reduced to a tangled mass of scrap iron. 
On the morning of October 10, when the extent 
of the damage caused during the night could be 
perceived, the Danish officials took prompt and 
active steps, not only to give relief to the suflPerers 
but also to restore the town as far as possible to 
its usual immaculate condition. In many instances 
money was given to the poor to enable them to 
build new houses. In other cases money was 
loaned without interest. 

In addition to these means of bringing relief, 
the government placed gangs at work on the moun- 
tain roads, which in many instances had been 
completely effaced, and restored them to their 
proper condition. A little park on the water front 
which, until the night of the hurricane, had been 
one of the principal attractions of Charlotte- 
Amalia, and which was almost completely demol- 
ished, was cleaned up and the uprooted trees were 
replanted when this was possible. Even after the 
officials of the island were informed that the sale 
of the Danish West Indies was a certainty they 
did not in any way diminish their efforts towards 
effacing the damage caused by the storm; they 
seemed to think it a sacred duty to hand over the 

67 



THE VmGIN ISLANDS 

islands to the United States in as good condition 
as possible. 

While, of course, the damage caused by one of 
these hurricanes is enormous, one must take into 
consideration the fact that tropical houses as a 
general rule are but lightly built and easily blown 
down. No true West Indian will learn from the 
last hurricane that he should prepare his new abode 
m conformity with the demands that may be made 
upon its strength by any subsequent storm. For 
this reason the inhabitants of the Antilles are fre- 
quently a great deal to blame for the fact that their 
homes have suffered the effects of a hurricane. 
The damage done in the agricultural areas, while 
large, is not noticeable three months after the 
passing of a storm, as in the luxuriant climate of 
St. Thomas practically all destroyed vegetation is 
quickly replaced. 

Earthquakes also sometimes occur, and these 
are most frequent in the months of January, Feb- 
ruary and March. No intending visitor to St. 
Thomas need, however, feel any alarm on this 
score. While, occasionally, plaster and loose stones 
or bricks from old walls have been known to fall, 
no instance has yet been recorded of so much as a 

68 





CANAAN ESTATE HOUSE, AFTER HURRICANE 




-A ^ - . , 



HAMBURG-AMERICAN LINE OFFICES, AND DREDGE "ST. HILDA' 
Driven Ashore by Hurricane 




FIRING TIME-GUN BATTERY ON WATERFRONT, CHARLOTTE-AMALIA 




LUTHERAN CHURCH, CHARLOTTE-AMALIA 



ON BEAUTIFUL ST. THOMAS 

wall being thrown down. Usually the shocks seem 
to come from the south and pass off toward the 
north. Rarely are there more than two shocks. 
The earthquakes have but once been accompanied 
by marine disturbances, such as tidal waves; they 
appear to be nothing but survivals of stronger 
shocks that may have taken place in South America 
and been thence transmitted to St. Thomas. 




An old wood cut of Blackbeard'a Castle, 
Charlotte-Amalia, St. Thomas, made by Dr. 
Charles Taylor. The pirate's flag is a con- 
cession to popular sentiment. 



CHAPTER IV 
RAMBLES ABOUT CHARLOTTE-AMALIA 

PICTURESQUE COAL CARRIERS— WHY ENGLISH IS THE POPU- 
LAR LANGUAGE— HOW THE "RECONCILING-COURT" DIS- 
COURAGES LITIGATION— CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS- 
STREETS, GUTTERS AND HILLS— THE FABLES OF FOUR 
HILL-TOPS— BUCCANEERS, BLACKBEARD AND BLUEBEARD 
—WHY THE GUNS WERE FIRED— HOSPITALITY AND 
FLOWERS— WATER-FRONT ACTIVITY 

THE smiling little town of Charlotte- 
Amalia nestles among four hills, which 
branch southward from the main range 
of the island. No stranger can fail to be im- 
pressed by the beauty of the situation of the 
picturesque town and no native of St. Thomas can 
return here after an absence, be it ever so short, 
without being thoroughly content with his original 
choice of residence. 

Charlotte-Amalia was the seat of government 
when Denmark ruled, and the governor of the 
three islands spent six months out of the year here 
and the other six months on the island of St. Croix. 
The town was named after the consort of Christian 
V, in whose time it was founded. On the earliest 
records the name of the town was Tappus, but why 
70 



RAMBLES ABOUT CHARLOTTE-AMALIA 

this name was used is not known. The population 
is about eight thousand, though there are only 
about ten thousand people on the entire island. 
That there are many more women than men is 
due to the fact that so many of the men have been 
forced to leave the island to gain a living. 

Fully ninety per cent, of the total population 
is negro, but, despite this fact, the St. Thomian 
negroes are far more polite than any other negroes 
in the West Indies; they do not seem to wish to 
be on a footing of equality with their white fellow- 
citizens. This is undoubtedly due to the excellent 
and kind training given them during the Danish 
rule, the results of which will show for many years. 
If in the future the same treatment is accorded the 
natives, there will be no troubles between the 
whites and the negroes. 

Because of hard times the negroes of St. Thomas 
have been too frequently forced to leave their 
beloved little island and seek a living elsewhere. 
These absentees from home make splendid servants. 
Happy indeed does a housewife in the West Indies 
count herself who possesses a St. Thomian for a 
house-servant. Her less fortunate sisters who have 
to content themselves with an inefficient and at 

71 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

times insolent servant from Barbadoes, or some 
other British island, look upon her with envy. 

The stay-at-home St. Thomian depends for a 
living chiefly upon the ships that come to Charlotte- 
Amalia, either to load or to discharge their cargoes. 
He or she, as the case may be, — for the women work 
as hard as the men, — easily finds work as a steve- 
dore upon one of these vessels, or else as a coal- 
carrier on the wharves which supply ships calling 
at this port in order to fill their bunkers. 

The stevedore's wages are one dollar per day. 
The coal-carrier is paid according to the amount 
of work done. Until January, 1917, the rate for 
coal-carriers was a cent for every basket brought 
on board. By dint of hard work some of the 
stronger laborers were enabled to make as much 
as two dollars a day, but this was possible, of 
course, for only a few days each week. To earn 
two dollars it was necessary to fill two hundred 
baskets, each of which contained from eighty-five 
to ninety-five pounds of coal, and to toil with these 
from the coal heap up a steeply-inclined gangway to 
the bunkers of the ship. A labor union formed in 
Charlotte-Amalia, in imitation of a similar organi- 
zation founded two years earlier in St. Croix, has 
72 



r 
f 

X 

W 
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H 
H 

O 

w 
o 

H 
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B 

I 





TYPICAL COAL CARRIERS, CHARLOTTE- 
AMALIA 




CUSTOM HOUSE AND POST OFFICE, CHARLOTTE-AMALIA, ST, THOMAS 



RAMBLES ABOUT CHARLOTTE-AMALIA 

succeeded in raising the rate per basket from one 
cent to two cents. A few strikes occurred before 
the coal companies agreed to this increase, but in 
the end matters were settled amicably. The 
workers took advantage of the fact that the large 
electric cranes, which had been erected by the 
West India Company not long before, and which 
were capable of handling one hundred and fifty 
tons of coal per hour, had been completely wrecked 
by the hurricane of October, 1916. Yet it is true 
that the increased cost of living, and the fact that 
few ships have called at St. Thomas since the 
outbreak of the European War, made higher wages 
imperative. 

At best, the lot of the faithful coal-carriers is 
not enviable. The work is hard and the workers 
are exposed to weather of all kinds, from the in- 
tense tropical heat of the waterfront to the drench- 
ing downpour of the rainy season. In spite of 
these hardships, the laborers are a cheerful lot. 
They reside in a part of the town known as the 
"Back-of-AU." 

The port of San Juan on Porto Rico has of late 
years become a serious rival of St. Thomas for the 
coaling of ships. A number of steamship lines 

73 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

which for years called at Charlotte-AmaUa are 
now going to San Juan, where coal is cheaper, 
owing to the greater proximity to the ports of the 
United States and the better facilities which have 
been provided for the supplying of ships with 
bunker coal. It is thought that when the United 
States establishes a naval base on the island, the 
increased demand for laborers and the better pay 
which they undoubtedly will receive will go far 
toward bettering their lot and the conditions under 
which they live. 

As a race the St. Thomians are far from indo- 
lent. They are hard-working and willing, but not 
very efficient, judged by northern standards. 
Their employers find it advisable to cajole them, 
instead of using harsh words to them. If the 
laborers are treated in a kind manner, they are 
willing to go to all sorts of extremes to repay the 
treatment. 

Though, of course, Danish was the official 
language under the rule of Denmark, it is rare 
indeed to find a native of St. Thomas who is 
acquainted with it. All government notices were 
printed in both Danish and English, while the two 
local newspapers appeared in the English language. 
74 



RAMBLES ABOUT CHARLOTTE-AMALIA 

But for the fact that the streets bear Danish names, 
the visitor would not reahze that he is in a former 
colony of Denmark. The Danish language was 
never forced upon the inhabitants by the govern- 
ment, and, as a matter of fact, they would have 
had but little use for it, since their principal com- 
mercial relations have been with the English- 
speaking races. 

Offenses of a criminal nature are almost un- 
known on the island. A few instances of theft 
were so severely punished that grand larceny was 
completely stamped out. While a St. Thomian is 
not above appropriating to himself or to his family 
food from his master's table or any small trifle 
that happens to strike his fancy, it cannot be said 
that predetermined stealing is part of his nature. 

Little happens to disturb the quiet of the tropi- 
cal dolce-far-niente of Charlotte-Amalia. A quarrel 
between two jealous female coal-carriers, or the 
bibulous noise made by a convivial laborer on 
pay day, are about the only disturbances that call 
for the interference of the few policemen neces- 
sary on the island. The law courts are most de- 
serted, and only one professional lawyer resides in 
Charlotte-Amalia. 

75 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

During the Danish rule, St. Thomas boasted 
of a system which the other West Indian islands, 
where litigation at times proves costly, might do 
well to adopt. This is the "reconciling-court." 
If an employer, for instance, became involved in 
a dispute with his clerk as to the wages due the 
latter, the clerk was not obliged either to accept 
his employer's decision or to hire an expensive 
lawyer to defend his interests. Either the clerk 
or his employer could call on the two reconciling 
judges of the court, who were appointed from the 
people by the governor. The plaintiff could then 
state his case and request the judges to take the 
matter up. Both parties would then be summoned 
and each would be allowed to tell his side of the 
question at issue. The judges would give their 
opinion off-hand and attempt to effect a settle- 
ment between the disputants. Generally this 
would succeed, and the matter would be finished. 
By this simple means many a costly lawsuit was 
prevented and thus the long delays of northern 
law courts were unknown. If those who appeared 
before the *'reconciling-court'* professed them- 
selves as being content with the decision of the 
judges and did not carry out the stipulations of 
76 



RAMBLES ABOUT CHARLOTTE-AMALIA 

this decision afterwards, they were severely and 
summarily dealt with. If, on the other hand, the 
decision of the judges was not satisfactory to them, 
and they stated that they wished to carry the 
matter to the regular law courts, they were at 
Uberty to do so. 

"^ Since the days of its foundation, Charlotte- 
Amalia has always welcomed religious bodies of 
all denominations. The official religion of the 
Danish government was Lutheran, and ministers 
of this creed were sent out by the Crown; but no 
restrictions were placed upon the followers of 
other beliefs, and as a result the little town has a 
diversity of houses of worship. Perhaps the hand- 
somest of these buildings is the Memorial Church 
of the Moravian Brethren. To-day the Mora- 
vians are one of the strongest sects on the island, 
and their missionaries take the most active meas- 
ures to better the conditions of the St. Thomas 
laboring classes. 

At first the Lutheran congregation worshipped 
in Christian's Fort. In 1793 the new church 
building was consecrated and was used until 1826, 
when it was destroyed by fire. The church was 
soon rebuilt, and it has been used since 1827. 

77 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

Until the hurricane of 1916, it was chiefly notice- 
able because of the beautiful, symmetrical avenue 
of royal palms which led from the gate to the 
steps of the building. These were totally destroyed. 
It will be many years before this attractive feature 
of the surroundings of the old building can be 
restored. 

Like the Lutheran Church, the Dutch Re- 
formed Church was founded in Charlotte-Amalia 
on the first settlement of the town. It is possible 
even that it antedated the Lutheran congregation, 
for it is more than likely that the first Dutch 
settlers in 1666 had their own pastor with them. 
The present building used by the congregation of 
the Reformed Dutch Church was erected in 1846, 
the two previous buildings having been destroyed 
by fire. 

There is also a large and imposing Roman 
Catholic church in Charlotte-Amalia. This was 
built about 1844. Either Spanish or French 
supplements Latin in the services, owing to the 
fact that the majority of the Catholics are natives 
of the French or Spanish-speaking islands of the 
Antilles. Occasionally there are services in English. 

The Episcopal Church has many adherents, 
78 




Photograph suppiifil hy \\ illi.un I . I x-iii.irest 

REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH, CHARLOTTE-AMALIA 
Organized 1688 




Photograph by Clarence Taylor 

CHRIST CHURCH, WESLEYAN, CHARLOTTE-AMALIA 




Photograph by Ll.ireiu e I .i_\ l^r 

MEMORIAL CHURCH, MORAVIAN, CHARLOTTE-AMALIA 




Photogfriph by Clarence 1 a\ lur 

ALL saints' ANGLICAN CHURCH, CHARLOTTE-AMALIA 



1 



RAMBLES ABOUT CHARLOTTE-AMALIA 

and services are held in a handsome building 
which was erected some twenty or thirty years ago. 

In addition to the other denominations named, 
the French Huguenots and the Jews have places 
of worship. 

Good public schools have been founded for 
education in the lower grades, and Charlotte- 
Amalia compares favorably in this respect with 
towns of its size almost anywhere. Facilities for 
higher education, however, are woefully lacking. 
The more well-to-do of the people are obliged to 
send their children to the United States or to 
other countries for their final education. It is 
also to be regretted that St. Thomas does not 
possess a well-equipped trade school where the 
negroes can be instructed in the handicrafts. The 
Moravian missionaries have made successful efforts 
to instruct their followers in craftsmanship, but 
otherwise the only manner in which artisans can 
learn their trades is by apprenticing themselves 
to a master workman. 

The town has but one level street of any length. 

This is the Main street and it is parallel to the 

waterfront. On this are the shops and warehouses 

and here merchants and shipping agents have 

79 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

their offices. All other streets run at right angles 
to the main street and are quite precipitous, owing 
to the fact that the greater part of the town lies 
on four hills. These hills are, from west to east. 
Frenchmen's Hill, Delanois Hill, Government Hill, 
and Luchetti's Hill. Many of the streets are 
called streets by courtesy only, for they consist of 
a series of stone steps which lead to the heights 
above. Parallel to these steps run stone gutters 
which, in rainy spells, carry the water down hill 
to the sea. These gutters are locally known as 
"guts,'* and on St. Thomas a gut may mean any- 
thing from a ravine to a small watercourse. The 
streets and steps are always kept extremely clean. 
This work is done for the most part by the petty 
oflfenders from the prison in the fort. The houses, 
many of which have most picturesque grilled iron 
gateways, are painted in all colors and, with their 
scarlet roofs, they give a gay touch of color to the 
pretty town. 

Charlotte-Amalia is lighted by electricity, and 
good service both for streets and residences is 
given by the electric company. The town also 
has a good ice-plant and its markets for the selling 
of produce and meat are well arranged. In the 
80 



RAMBLES ABOUT CHARLOTTE-AMALIA 

fish-market a supply of fresh fish can always be 
obtained in the mornings, and fruit, brought by 
small sailing-vessels from the neighboring British 
islands, can generally be purchased. 

Frenchmen's Hill is so called from the fact 
that, in the early days, the section of the town in 
which is this hill was chosen by the French Hugue- 
not refugees as their abode. The hill forms 
the extreme western boundary of the town. The 
next hill, toward the center of Charlotte-Amalia, 
Delanois Hill, is named after one of the early 
settlers. Upon the crest are two beacon lights 
which, when held in line, serve to indicate to 
vessels entering the harbor the proper channel. 
Here also can be seen the former Delanois residence 
and the house which, at one time, was occupied 
by General Santa Anna of Mexico, who came to 
St. Thomas, after being expelled from his native 
country, to pass his declining years in the quiet 
of Charlotte-Amalia. The older residents still 
remember seeing this noted warrior in their early 
childhood, and enjoy telling visitors of the general 
and how he stumped about the town on his wooden 
leg. 

The central portion of Charlotte-Amalia is 
6 81 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

built upon Government Hill. Here are the ojfficial 
residence of the governor during the Danish rule 
and the former Danish Government ofHces. Few 
colonies of the West Indies boast of a government- 
house equal in quiet splendor to that found on 
St. Thomas. Here the magnificent functions were 
always held for visiting men-of-warsmen, and naval 
officers of all nations counted a stay in St. Thomas 
harbor one of the most pleasant visits made by 
them in the West Indies. The large ballroom of 
the residence, with its enormous chandeliers and 
wonderful old colonial mahogany furniture, is 
especially handsome. 

The making of mahogany furniture always was 
a specialty of the craftsmen of the island, and 
some of their finest pieces are to be found here. 
Once visiting tourists were successful in discover- 
ing antiques of this kind in the little carpenter 
shops of the town, but so much has been carried off 
that few specimens are obtainable to-day. 

On Government Hill is also Blackbeard's 
Castle, named after the celebrated John Teach, 
alias Blackbeard. No proof has ever been brought 
forward that this pirate, or any other pirate, ever 
actually resided on the island, although in the 

82 



( — 




RAMBLES ABOUT CHARLOTTE-AMALIA 

early days raids by the buccaneers were not 
uncommon. Furthermore, no authentic record 
has ever been found that John Teach resided upon 
St. Thomas. It will be seen, therefore, that this 
interesting old residence, one of the first built in 
Charlotte-Amalia and one of the very few remain- 
ing to-day that hark back to the settlement of the 
island, cannot lay claim to having been the abode 
of the interesting and notorious buccaneer. 

The cold historical facts about the castle are 
that it was built by one Charles Baggaert, one 
of the more turbulent of Governor Iversen's col- 
onists, probably in order to annoy the governor. 
The "absconder from Middelburg,'* as Baggaert 
is called in some of the early reports written by 
Iversen, built himself a house upon the hill over- 
looking the lately -erected Christian's Fort. Iver- 
sen complained bitterly about Baggaert's residence 
that "it is not advantageous to the fort that Bag- 
gaert built his house so much higher than the 
fort, in so much that everyone who comes to see 
him can completely overlook it." This remark 
of the governor gives one an interesting sidelight 
on the strategic value of Christian's Fort. 

One of the few authentic stories of the activity 

83 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

of buccaneers in the Virgin Islands is told in the 
Calendar of State Papers, Colonial Series, America 
and the West Indies. In 1682 Jean Hamlin cap- 
tured the merchant vessel La Trompeuse, refitted 
her as a man-of-war, and made a piratical cruise 
in the Caribbean. For a time he made his head- 
quarters at St. Thomas, whose governor not only 
winked at his misdeeds but received him as a 
friend. From St. Thomas, during the early months 
of 1683, raids were made on a number of English 
merchantmen. Then came an expedition to Africa, 
in which seventeen Dutch and English sloops were 
captured. On July 27 La Trompeuse returned to 
St. Thomas. The story of what happened next 
is told by C. H. Haring in "The Buccaneers in 
the West Indies in the XVII Century": 

"They were admitted and kindly received by 
the governor, and allowed to bring their plunder 
ashore. Three days later Captain Carlile of 
H. M. S. Francis, who had been sent out by Gov- 
ernor Stapleton to hunt for pirates, sailed into the 
harbor, and on being assured by the pilot and by 
an English sloop lying at anchor there that the 
ship before him was the pirate La Trompeuse, in 
the night of the following day he set her on fire 
84 



RAMBLES ABOUT CHARLOTTE-AMALIA 

and blew her up. Hamlin and some of the crew 
were on board, but after firing a few shots, escaped 
to the shore. The pirate ship carried thirty-two 
guns, and if she had not been under-manned Car- 
lile might have encountered a formidable resist- 
ance. The Governor of St. Thomas sent a note 
of protest to Carlile for having, as he said, secretly 
set fire to a frigate which had been confiscated to 
the King of Denmark. Nevertheless he sent 
Hamlin and his men for safety in a boat to another 
part of the island, and later selling him a sloop, 
let him sail away to join the French buccaneers in 
Hispaniola. 

"The Danish governor of St. Thomas, whose 
name was Adolf Esmit, had formerly been himself 
a privateer, and had used his popularity on the 
island to eject from authority his brother, Nicholas 
Esmit, the lawful governor. By protecting and 
encouraging pirates — for a consideration, of course 
— he proved a bad neighbor to the surrounding 
English islands. Although he had but three hun- 
dred or three hundred and fifty people on St. 
Thomas, and most of these British subjects, he 
laid claim to all the Virgin Islands, harbored run- 
away servants, seamen and debtors, fitted out 

85 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

pirate vessels with arms and provisions, and re- 
fused to restore captured ships and crews which 
the pirates brought into his port. The King of 
Denmark had sent out a new governor, named 
Iversen, to dispossess Esmit, but he did not arrive 
in the West Indies until October, 1684, when, with 
the assistance of an armed sloop which Sir Wilham 
Stapleton had been ordered by the English Council 
to lend him, he took possession of St. Thomas and 
its pirate governor." 

But even if St. Thomas is not celebrated in the 
annals of the buccaneers, the residents are not 
slow to put forward claims to piratical distinction. 
On Luchetti's Hill— which was named after an 
Italian consul— is another so-called buccaneers' 
stronghold, Bluebeard's Castle. Again the cold 
Ught of historical research has to dispel the haze of 
romance. Bluebeard's Castle was built in 1700 
by the local government and served as an addi- 
tional fortification to defend the town. It was 
named Frederik's Fort, and did not pass out of 
government hands until it was acquired by a Mr. 
Luchetti in the first part of the nineteenth cen- 
tury. Local tradition states that there is an 
underground passage between Bluebeard's and 
86 



RAMBLES ABOUT CHARLOTTE-AMALIA 

Blackbeard's castles. If so, the early colonists not 
only were expert miners, but must have possessed 
boundless patience, superfluous energy and a won- 
derful lack of common sense to drill a useless tunnel 
down a hill three hundred feet high, through about 
a mile of solid rock, and up another hill two hun- 
dred feet. It would be hard indeed to say what 
purpose such a passage could have served, and 
there can be no doubt that this local belief has no 
foundation of fact. 

Christian's Fort, built on the waterfront, was 
used during the latter days of the Danish occupa- 
tion as a police station and a jail for offenders 
sentenced to less than two years' imprisonment. 
Although the fort was built in 1672 by Governor 
Iversen, around the existing old Dutch fortifica- 
tions, it looks today almost as it looked in the 
seventeenth century, though a clock tower has 
been added and the main entrance has been some- 
what changed. It has, of course, no military value, 
and only three small cannon defend its battlements. 
At one time these were used for saluting purposes, 
but it was found that their recoil damaged the 
roof of the apartment underneath, and the prac- 
tice was discontinued. 

87 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

For many years the fort was the official resi- 
dence of the governor and other officials. Here 
the Lutheran clergyman had his quarters, and the 
church services were held in one of the rooms. 
The pastor, in fact, had to obtain a military pass 
from the governor before he was allowed to leave 
the stronghold, so strict were the seventeenth cen- 
tury regulations here. 

The apartments, which are built around an 
attractively-tiled courtyard, served as offices and 
cells. There is only one dark cell found, and this 
is used solely to quiet obstreperous prisoners when 
they become violent and abusive. Incarceration 
in this cell soon calms them; the gloom appears to 
depress the spirits of men of a sunlight-loving race. 
The prisoners are employed on road work, but they 
are treated mildly and they have but short working 
hours. 

Until a few years ago, one of the rooms of the 
fort also served as a depository for the currency of 
the local bank, and the archives of the government 
offices were also safeguarded here. 

The most attractive aspect of the fort is from 
the waterfront. A small balcony in one corner, 
decorated with potted flowers, offers a curious con- 
88 



RAMBLES ABOUT CHARLOTTE-AMALIA 

trast to a supposedly frowning fortress. This 
balcony was part of the residence of the assistant- 
policemaster. A visit to the fort is well worth 
while, for it offers a great deal to interest the 
tourist. 

On the waterfront, under the fort, is a saluting 
battery of twelve pieces. From here are returned 
the salutes given to the governor by visiting war- 
ships on entering the harbor. The time gun also 
is fired here. During the Danish rule this gun was 
fired at five in the morning, at noon, and again at 
eight in the evening. No satisfactory explanation 
for the firing of the gun at these hours has ever 
been given. No one thinks of getting up at five 
in the morning in happy-go-lucky Charlotte- 
Amalia, and no one thinks of going to bed at 
eight o'clock in the pleasure-loving town. The 
noon gun was noticeable only for its inaccuracy, 
its being sometimes five minutes fast and again 
five minutes slow. With gunpowder so high, it is 
hard to understand why the formality of these 
detonations was not dispensed with. 

There is also on the waterfront a little park, 

called Emancipation Park. In its center stands a 

noble bust of the beloved Danish king. Christian 

89 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

IX. Here the excellent little native band plays 
twice a week. Yet another small park in the town 
is known by a name more utilitarian than beautiful, 
"Coconut Square." This park also is most attrac- 
tive with its native shrubs and bougainvillea trees. 

Near Emancipation Park and Christian's Fort 
are the large barracks of the gendarmerie, erected 
in 1829. These can house two hundred or more 
soldiers, but during the latter days of the Danish 
occupation it was necessary to keep only about 
sixteen gendarmes on the island. 

There is one theatre, the Apollo Theatre, in 
Coconut Square. This is seldom used, for traveling 
theatrical companies do not find it profitable to 
come to St. Thomas. Local entertainments are 
held here, and it is probable that, since so many 
American sailors and marines are to be stationed 
on the island, the building will be used frequently 
for motion pictures. 

As mentioned, the sanitary conditions of 
Charlotte-Amalia as a whole are extremely good 
and there is little disease. An excellent hospital 
was built by the Danish Government, with all 
up-to-date appliances. Nurses and physicians were 
sent out from the mother country. 
90 



RAMBLES ABOUT CHARLOTTE-AMALIA 

The large parade ground, which Hes on the east- 
ern limits of the town, is fringed with a wonderful 
array of mahogany trees. In former days, this was 
used for the military parades of the garrison. To-day 
games such as cricket and football are played here. 

It is one of the pleasant customs of Charlotte- 
Amalia to welcome its more popular returning sons 
with the strains of its little band, which will be 
assembled upon the landing-wharf on their arrival; 
and this welcome is typical of the spirit of the kind- 
ly, hospitable town. In fact, there is no hospitality 
hke that found in Charlotte- Amalia. It is the de- 
light of the inhabitants to welcome the stranger 
within their gates, not only with words, but also 
with gifts of the wonderful iSowers that are raised 
on the island. Unpopular indeed is the lady visi- 
tor, coming with proper introductions, who is not 
greeted every other morning or so by a dusky 
servitor with an enormous bouquet of roses or 
lilies such as a New York florist would envy, and 
the message: "Mrs. So-and-So's compliments." 
The word "compliments" is extensively used by 
these happy people; it designates greetings, love 
and thoughtful kindness such as is not often found 

elsewhere. 

91 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

Travelers may speak as they will of the delights 
of the floral tributes of Hawaii ; these cannot com- 
pare with the offerings made by the St. Thomians 
to their visiting friends. The custom is not re- 
stricted to the upper classes, for it is no unusual 
thing for the servants to bring flowers to their 
employers. This is not done in any spirit of 
sycophancy, but only from a warm-hearted desire 
to please. 

And then the dinners and festivities provided 
for the visitor! It is almost impossible to escape 
from them, and the more formal affairs make one 
think of the eighteenth century ceremonial ban- 
quets. Old wines are produced from the cellars, 
toasts are drunk, and wonderful food is prepared 
for these feasts by old negro cooks from whose 
looks none would suspect an ability to produce 
the most Lucullean dishes without the aid of a 
cook book! 

Happy indeed is life in Charlotte-Amalia. Any 
right-minded visitor cannot but feel a thrill in 
later years when memories come to him of days 
spent on "the blessed island." 

Curious old-time customs still prevail in the 
town. On Christmas night carols are sung in the 
92 



RAMBLES ABOUT CHARLOTTE-AMALIA 

streets and native bands circulate through the town 
with the singers. Most of the singers in these 
bands play on the flute, the guitar or an instru- 
ment called a "scratchy-scratch." This latter in- 
strument is made from a long calabash upon which 
grooves have been cut which, when scraped with 
a piece of wire, produce a weird sound that does 
not go badly with the other instruments. The 
voices of the negroes, while a trifle melancholy, 
are not unmusical. 

New Year's Day is the great festival. Singing 
and dancing take place in the streets, beginning as 
early as three in the morning. At daybreak the 
performers join in a body under the balcony of the 
governor's residence and the official in charge is 
supposed to appear and make a speech. Then 
eatables and drinkables are distributed among the 
merry-makers, and a small amount of money is 
given to each. Later in the day the streets are 
filled with the so-called "maskers" — natives who 
have dressed themselves in carnival costumes, and 
who, in small bands, visit their friends and em- 
ployers to wish them the compliments of the 
season and, incidentally, to receive some liquid 
refreshment. The performers are well-mannered 

93 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

and not too noisy, and the police do not often find 
it necessary to interfere with their merry-making. 
Although of late years the trade of St. Thomas 
has fallen off sadly, a number of steamship lines 
still call at the port regularly. The Quebec Steam- 
ship Company's steamers arrive bi-monthly from 
New York and on their return voyage from the 
Leeward Islands and the Guyanas again touch 
here. The motor-ships of the East-Asiatic Com- 
pany call on their way to Denmark from Oriental 
ports by way of the Panama Canal. The inter- 
colonial steamer of the Compagnie Generate Trans- 
ai?an%we, trading betweenMartinique, Guadeloupe, 

Porto Rico, Santo Domingo and Cuba touches at 
St. Thomas on both its outward and homeward- 
bound voyage. The Leyland Line ships put into 
the port every six weeks on the way from England 
to Jamaica. The Bull-Insular Line comes here 
every two weeks with a small steamer to obtain 
freight for its large cargo-vessels plying between 
Porto Rico and New York and to bring passengers 
to St. Thomas and receive passengers for Porto 
Rico. In addition to these, many cargo-ships call 
in order to obtain coal for their bunkers. A small 
motor-vessel also makes weekly trips to Fajardo 
94 



RAMBLES ABOUT CHARLOTTE-AMALIA 

from Porto Rico and carries the mail in both 
directions. 

Before the outbreak of the European War a 
far larger number of steamship companies made 
St. Thomas a regular port of call. The Hamburg- 
American Line, which established its chief depot 
in the Antilles on St. Thomas, had as many 
as fifteen steamers per month during the first six 
months of 1914. Accurate figures are not available 
as to the number or tonnage of vessels now calling 
at the port, but, in order to obtain an idea of the 
facilities offered by this excellent harbor, it may 
be stated that in 1913 two hundred vessels called 
here, while during the first half of 1914 this num- 
ber was materially increased. Since the outbreak 
of the European War, a large percentage of the 
St. Thomians have been thrown out of work and 
have been forced to leave the island because of 
the decrease in the number of arriving steamers. 

There are six docks on the waterfront from 
which coal can be supplied to ships, or where cargo 
can be discharged or taken on board. Vessels 
drawing up to thirty-one feet of water can moor 
alongside these docks. In addition to these facili- 
ties an anchorage for an incredibly large number 

95 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

of ships can be found in the harbor itself, and these 
can be discharged by means of lighters owned by 
private companies and steamship agents. In 1867 
a floating dry-dock was launched. This had a 
lifting capacity of three thousand tons. It failed 
to work, and was not repaired and put into active 
operation until 1875. Since then it has lifted over 
eleven hundred large ships. This dock is generally 
used by the smaller steamers which ply around 
the islands of Santo Domingo and Porto Rico, and 
those in inter-insular service in the northern part 
of the Leeward Islands. The only other docks in 
the West Indies are at Trinidad, Havana and 
Jamaica. For this reason, St. Thomas can depend 
upon a steady amount of work of this character. 

Various shipyards offer facilities for the dock- 
ing of small sailing vessels and the repairing of the 
machinery of steamers. 

A cable comes to St. Thomas from Jamaica and 
Panama and connects this island with the Leeward 
Islands, so that there is telegraphic communica- 
tion with all parts of the world. The two excellent 
little newspapers published in the island, one a 
daily paper, the other and larger one a bi-weekly, 
obtain their foreign news from the bulletins pro- 
96 



RAMBLES ABOUT CHARLOTTE-AMALIA 

vided by this cable company. Another cable 
connects St. Thomas with the island of St. Croix. 
This cable was laid by the Danish Government and 
was used principally for government business. 
There is no telegraphic communication between 
St. Thomas and St. John. 

St. Thomas does a fair amount of inter-colonial 
trade, and, since its acquisition by the United 
States the local merchants look for a substantial 
increase in their business. In the year preceding 
the sale of the islands, more of this island's foreign 
trade of St. Thomas went to the United States 
than to any other country. During the fiscal year 
ending March 31, 1916, the total trade amounted 
to $734,680. In this amount the United States 
shared to the extent of $332,286. Imports at St. 
Thomas constitute about seventy per cent, of the 
total imports for all three islands. 



CHAPTER V 
THE ISLAND OF BEAUTIFUL VIEWS 

TO "MA FOLIE" ON PONYBACK— FINDING HIDDEN TREAS- 
URES ON THE SHORES OF MAGENS BAY — WHAT THE 
KITCHEN-MIDDENS REVEALED— AN ABANDONED SUGAR 
ESTATE AND A RUINED MISSION STATION— A HUNTERS' 
PARADISE— MORE ABANDONED ESTATES AND A HAUNTED 
RUIN— CURIOUS CEMETERY ORNAMENTS— THE "GRAVE- 
YARD OF SHIPS" AND A GHOSTLY ARRAY OF FIGURE- 
HEADS—ESCAPING SLAVES AND PICTURESQUE "CHA-CHAS" 

TO learn thoroughly the island of St. 
Thomas one must either be a good 
pedestrian or obtain a sure-footed pony. 
There are practically no carriage roads. The only 
roads which allow a fairly long drive lead from 
Charlotte-Amalia to Brewer's Bay, about three 
miles west of the town, or from Charlotte-Amalia 
to Water Bay, about five miles east. This latter 
road, however, is none too good, and it has some 
stiff hills which make a strong horse a necessity. 
But what St. Thomas lacks in carriage roads it 
makes up in attractive mountain trails and bridle 
paths. 

Perhaps the first excursion which a visitor with 
plenty of time at his disposal should take is to Ma 
Folie, an estate lying upon one of the crests of the 
98 




■< Ji 



■X 



J- • 



THE ISLAND OF BEAUTIFUL VIEWS 

main mountain range of the island, on which can 
be seen the stone obelisk erected by the Brazilian 
astronomers when they established a station to 
observe the transit of Venus in 1882. The owner 
of this estate seems to have been aware of the 
futility of going in for agriculture on the precipi- 
tous slopes of his land, and named it *'My Folly" 
in consequence. 

The road leading to Ma Folic makes a stiff 
ascent from the town, but the view from the sum- 
mit well pays for all the labor involved. It is 
always possible on St. Thomas to obtain hardy 
little ponies suitable for and accustomed to the 
mountain trails, and they can be hired at small 
cost. It is well, though, to try out a hired animal 
on a level stretch before using him on a steep path. 

The summit of Ma Folic once reached, there 
is spread out what is perhaps one of the most 
wonderful views in the Antilles. Directly below, 
one sees the town of Charlotte-Amalia and the 
harbor of St. Thomas with its variety of ships of 
all nationalities. In the far distance Buck Island 
and Frenchman's Cap can be seen, and on clear 
days the mountains of the island of St. Croix. To 
the west, Culebra and Vieques seem to beckon the 

99 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

visitor toward the misty elevation of the mainland 
of Porto Rico. To the north, the seas seem studded 
with little islands. Hans Lollik, Little Hans Lollik, 
Outer Brass, Inner Brass, and the Cockroach and 
Cricket resemble nothing so much as emeralds in 
an azure setting. To the east an even larger num- 
ber of cays and islands are visible, and even Virgin 
Gorda of the British Virgin Islands looms up, 
while Sage Mountian on Tortola is a prominent 
feature. The bays and inlets on St. Thomas itself 
astound with their beauty^ the visitor unaccus- 
tomed to the blues of West Indian seas and the 
cream-colored sands of the shores. 

A road leads both east and west from Ma 
Folie. Following this road to the eastward the 
tourist comes to the Louisenhoh estate and to a 
road named the King Road which leads, by way 
of the Canaan estate, to the wonderful Magens 
Bay. Of all the scenic splendors on the island, this 
bay stands alone. Its waters run through all shades 
and variations, from a delicate green to a sapphire 
blue, and its fringe of white beach forms a vivid 
contrast to the brown and gray of the rocks on the 
peninsula of Picara which forms its eastern 
boundary. 
100 * 



THE ISLAND OF BEAUTIFUL VIEWS 

It was on the shores of this bay that the expe- 
dition sent out by the Museum of the American 
Indian, Heye Foundation, of New York City, was 
successful in locating the remains of the village 
site of the aboriginal tribe that lived on the 
island previous to the coming of the Spanish 
discoverers. 

There can be no doubt that Magens Bay was 
an ideal location for the Indian village. In the 
first place the bay is well sheltered, with the excep- 
tion of northerly storms, and its sloping, sandy 
beach made the hauling up of canoes an easy 
matter. Then the presence of the giant Ceiha 
(cottonwood) trees on the hill slopes near by 
assured the Indians of an unfailing supply of 
material for their dug-out canoes. 

The waters of Magens Bay abound not only 
with shell food but with fish of all kinds. Birds 
and bird-eggs and the now extinct Isolohodon por- 
toricensis (a mammal about the size of a rabbit) 
helped to supply the Indian's wants for animal 
food. And the hills and valleys to the back of 
Magens Bay undoubtedly served admirably for the 
cultivation of cassava, yucca and the hundred and 
one fruits that make Hfe delightful in the West 

101 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

Indies. Pools and springs furnished the Indian 
household with the required water. 

To fix the actual location of the Magens Bay 
village site was a difficult matter, for the dense 
brush, with which the shores of the bay was cov- 
ered made the search for low mounds almost 
impossible. Minute pottery fragments were widely 
scattered, but, as the water courses which exist 
in the Magens Bay valley during the rainy season 
undoubtedly were responsible for the distribution 
of these fragments, they did not serve as a guide 
to the spot where excavations were to begin. 

At last an uprooted tree solved the problem. 
An examination of the cavity left by the roots of 
a large "turpentine tree" which had been over- 
turned by the recent hurricane, brought to light 
many shells and several large postsherds. Then 
the realization came that, since the days of the 
aborigines, the entire Magens Bay valley had been 
covered by a two foot deposit of diluvium, and 
that in consequence it was of no use to look for 
hummocks or mounds of pre-historic origin on the 
surface of a valley covered and made almost level 
by the decomposed humus. 

Owing to the dense undergrowth, it was found 

102 




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a g 

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12 to 



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a 



a 

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THE ISLAND OF BEAUTIFUL VIEWS 

necessary to employ a gang of men to chop down 
the brushwood and smaller trees and then to burn 
them. When the ground was cleared, it became 
possible to observe the presence of a ten foot high 
mound which merged with the slope of a small 
hill against which it lay. 

Excavations were started in this mound by a 
considerable number of workmen and a trench was 
commenced which had a semi-circular shape, a 
width of about seventy-five feet and a breadth of 
perhaps thirty feet. The eastern slope of this 
mound was limited by the slope of the hill, and the 
western slope was terminated by a little path 
which ran through the undergrowth. The mound, 
as has been stated, was almost indiscernible; it 
was impossible to make out where the mound 
stopped and the hill slope began until after the 
excavations had been made. In fact, had it not 
been for the fallen tree, it might have been a long 
time before the expedition would have started 
excavations in this particular spot, because the 
appearance of the ground made one think more of 
a hill slope than of a pre-Columbian deposit. 

The process of digging for prehistoric treasures 
of Indian pottery is interesting. First a trench 

103 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

some thirty feet wide was made in an easterly 
direction, toward the slope of the hill. Then a 
hole some six feet wide was dug over the entire 
length of the trench— in this instance thirty f eet— 
and from this an excavation was made down to 
the original bottom which existed before the form- 
ing of the Indian mound. While making such a 
hole, it is difficult to prevent breakage of the 
artifacts that may be found, as work with a pick 
and shovel in a perpendicular direction is not con- 
ducive to the preservation of specimens of a friable 
nature. Once the hole is made, however, the work- 
men are able to proceed in a straight direction by 
undermining the wall of the trench in the lowest 
part of the excavation. It will then be found that 
the earth, shells and ashes will fall down by their 
own weight and it becomes an easy matter to pick 
the Indian specimens from the debris. The bottom 
of the excavation is always kept as clean as pos- 
sible so that smaller artifacts, such as stone beads 
and amulets, can be the more easily discovered. 

The formation of an Indian kitchen-midden, 

or refuse heap, is a curious process. In the Magens 

Bay middens, beginning on the surface, one finds 

a deposit, about two feet thick, of diluvium. This 

104 



THE ISLAND OF BEAUTIFUL VIEWS 

deposit is somewhat lighter in color than those 
immediately below. The diluvium or humus was 
formed in the course of centuries, after the Indians 
had abandoned the site, by a decomposition of 
the leaves, branches, roots, et cetera, that fell upon 
the surface of the mound. The grasses growing 
upon the surface formed a kind of sod, and, what 
with this and the intertwining of the roots of the 
trees and bushes, the first layer was quite tough, 
and hard enough to dig in. Under the first layer 
came two others, both of these being about three 
feet thick. 

These latter layers were constituted of a mix- 
ture of humus, ashes, charcoal, artifacts, shells and 
the bones of such animals as were eaten by the 
Indians. Occasionally a burial was found in the 
lower of the two layers, but fully eighty per 
cent, of the burials were found in the sea sand di- 
rectly under the two layers caused by the Indian 
occupation. 

While the majority of the artifacts found in the 
two layers directly under the diluvial deposit were 
the fragments of broken vessels, there were some- 
times entire vessels. In the majority of cases 
these vessels accompanied burials, and, in conse- 

105 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

quence, had been buried entire. Probably they 
were filled with food stuffs which were to serve 
the departed for his journey to the Great Beyond. 
But sometimes a vessel would turn up in the 
Magens Bay deposits which was not accompamed 
by a burial. Probably this had been discarded 
by its Indian owner, owing to a flaw in the ware, 
or else had been buried accidentally under a mound 

of shells. . 1 J • 

The Indians probably deposited their dead m 
the original surface of sea sand some seven feet 
below the surface of the mound. The practise 
of burials in the floors of dwellings was not uncom- 
mon on many of the West Indian islands, as has 
been proven by the researches of other investi- 
gators. Of the nine burials that were found on 
the Magens Bay site, seven were of adults and 
two of children. Six of the burials were accom- 
panied by mortuary vessels, but outside of these 
vessels no other objects were found with the dead. 
The vessels were of the plainest construction, 
without decoration, and so were in great contrast 
to the elaborately decorated vessels that are found 
on the islands to the westward, Porto Rico and 
Santo Domingo. Judging from these and from 
106 




CROSS-SECTION OF ABORIGINAL MOUND, MAGENS 
BAY, ST. THOMAS 




KING ROAD, NEAR MAGENS BAY, ST. THOMAS 




CLEARING LAND BY FIRE, MAGENS BAY, ST. THOMAS 




LABORERS EXCAVATING IN PRE 



i-HISTORIC DEPOSITS, MAGENS iiAY, ST. THOMAS 



THE ISLAND OF BEAUTIFUL VIEWS 

other objects found in the deposits, the aborigines 
of St. Thomas were decidedly not of Arawak 
stock. 

The only other aboriginal deposit found on 
St. Thomas was an extensive shell-heap on Krum 
Bay, on the south coast of the island. No Indian 
specimens were found in this, and the only plaus- 
ible theory to account for the presence of these 
shells is that the Indians went from the north 
coast over the mountain ridge to Krum Bay to 
fish for these shells, opened them on the spot, and 
then carried the moUusks to their homes at Magens 
Bay. An extensive and thorough survey of the 
bays of the island convinced the expedition that 
no other village site could be found on St. Thomas. 

An exploration of the valley of Magens Bay 
will reveal the ruins of the buildings of a forgotten 
plantation, "Eenigheit," which was erected by the 
earliest Dutch settlers. These remains are known 
to but few present-day inhabitants of the island, 
and one has considerable diflficulty in locating them. 
They lie about half a mile inland. Near the shore 
is some other masonry, as well as an old cannon 
or two. Evidently the canny Dutch settlers did 
not seem inclined to live here without taking 

107 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

necessary precaution against the raids of sea rovers 
and assaults from other enemies. 

Another most attractive road, to the eastward 
of Charlotte-Amalia, leads by the extensive ruins 
of what once was one of the largest sugar estates 
of the island. What is now used as pasture land 
for the herds that provide the town with its daily 
supply of fresh milk was at one time a waving 
field of sugar-cane. Here is practically the only 
level area of any extent that can be found on 
St. Thomas. The remains of an abandoned wind- 
mill speak of the days when the sugar-cane was 
ground by the rollers of a mill operated by the 
sea breezes or by the mules which walked in an 
unceasing circle. The juice from the cane ran 
into open kettles under which were enormous fires, 
and the heat brought about the evaporation of 
the sugar. From a modern point of view this 
method would be considered wasteful and expen- 
sive, but that it was profitable in the eighteenth 
century is proven by the ruins of the hand- 
some residence which the planters were able to 

erect. 

Continuing along this road, one comes to the 
Moravian missionary station of New Hernhut, 
108 



THE ISLAND OF BEAUTIFUL VIEWS 

erected in 1737. The history of the estate and 
of the Moravian Brethren on the island is inter- 
esting. The first missionaries sent out were 
received on sufferance by the planters, who were 
violently opposed to the Brethren's efforts to 
improve the condition of their slaves. 

A tree is still shown on St. Thomas under 
which the Moravian services were held for a long 
time, as the missionaries were too poor to erect a 
building and no one on the island was kindly 
enough disposed toward their efforts to lend them 
one. Finally, in 1737, a benevolent planter 
assisted them in purchasing a small estate, which 
was named New Hernhut, after the Hernhut 
Seminary whence the Brethren came. 

Opposition to the Moravians grew, and the 
planters finally forbade their slaves to attend their 
services, fearing that the kindly treatment accorded 
the unfortunate Africans might make them dis- 
contented with their lot and lead to future revolts. 
In spite of this opposition and many other trials, 
the mission of New Hernhut prospered and to-day 
the Moravians are a power for good on the island. 
One cannot but have great admiration for these 
people, not only because they are earnest teachers 

109 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

of religion, but because they teach the natives the 

use of tools. 

The missionaries have always personally 
assisted in the erection of their buildings and 
are as adept in the handling of tools as they are 
in expounding a theological doctrine. They owned 
slaves for many years, but they liberated those 
they held in 1844, four years before emancipation 
became a fact by royal decree. 

The New Hernhut station was severely dam- 
aged by the hurricane of 1867 and was allowed to 
flu into ruins. Since then the missionary m 
charge has contented himself with humbler quar- 
ters on the estate. There is a fairly large church, 
as well as a school which is well patromzed by the 
natives who live in the neighborhood. Of the old 
buildings, the ruins of the large kitchen are 
especially noticeable. 

After passing New Hernhut, the road leads by 
the old Tutu Estate, another landmark of the 
days when St. Thomas derived as great wealth 
from its agriculture and its slaves as from the 
commerce that came to its harbor. The Tutu 
Estate is situated on what is said to be one of the 
healthiest spots on the island, and it is a favorite 
110 




RUINS OF STAIRWAY, NEW HERNHXJT MORAVIAN 
MISSION STATION, ST. THOMAS 




RUINS OF OLD MORAVIAN MISSION STATION, NEW HERNHUT, ST. THOMAS 




RUINS OF MANDAL ESTATE, ST. THOMAS 






NEGRO FISHING WITH CASTING NET, ST. THOMAS 



THE ISLAND OF BEAUTIFUL VIEWS 

recuperating resort for those worn out by the 
summer heat in town. 

The road finally leads to Water Bay, on the 
east coast of the island, where is a small settle- 
ment of fishermen who live in somewhat precarious 
poverty. These natives pursue their calling in the 
waters between St. Thomas and St. John and sell 
their catch in the market of Charlotte-Amalia. 

Water Bay, like all bays of these regions, 
abounds with pelicans, and it is interesting to 
watch the graceful dives of these seemingly clumsy 
birds, made in order to obtain their quota of food. 
Their method of fishing differs from that frequently 
employed by the local fishermen, who have be- 
come expert in the use of a peculiar type of casting 
net, shaped like a parachute, the outside edge 
weighted with leaden balls. The fisherman wades 
into the water and detects a school of small fish. 
With an indescribably quick motion he then throws 
the net^which has been carefully folded into 
small compass — in such a manner that it opens 
out and drops on the school of fish. The fish, becom- 
ing entangled in the meshes, are the fisherman's 
property. 

In this region and in the Red Hook district the 

111 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

followers of Nimrod and Isaac Walton can find 
ample opportunity to satisfy their desire for sport. 
European fallow-deer were imported by some of 
the early European settlers and can still be found 
and hunted, although there are so few left and 
they have become so wild that hunting them 
becomes an arduous sport indeed. At certain 
times of the year pigeons abound and make excel- 
lent shooting, especially at dusk when they fly 
from the woods, where they have been gathering 
berries, to their nests in the mangrove trees. 
Ducks are also found on some of the small ponds 
and lagoons. At any time of the year one can 
hunt a large variety of the delicious wood-dove, 
which is found in considerable numbers. 

Because of the importation of the East Indian 
mongoose other birds have become scarce. This 
supposedly useful animal, after finding that the 
rats he was to destroy did not offer as easy a prey 
as the young birds and that the birds' eggs were 
quite to his liking, turned his attention to these. 
Soon he was successful in annihilating the greater 
part of the bird life of the island. 

One occasionally sees the agouti {Dasyprocta 
agouti) on the island. A few of these small Brazil- 
112 



THE ISLAND OF BEAUTIFUL VIEWS 

ian mammals, which resemble an overgrown guinea 
pig, must, at some forgotten time, have been set 
loose on the island by a practical joker. They 
have multiplied wonderfully. 

To the south of Water Bay the entire east 
coast of St. Thomas is barren and dry. But little 
water is found here, and the vegetation resembles 
that of an arid tropical region. Those of the 
people who keep cattle or horses are obliged to go 
elsewhere for fodder. It is their usual practice to 
procure grass for their animals on Thatch Cay, 
bringing this home in their canoes. 

There are in circulation many stories regarding 
the presence of piratical treasure on Thatch Cay, 
and every once in awhile some enthusiastic St. 
Thomians will repair here and spend time in 
arduous excavations of parts of the cay. Up to 
date, however, these efforts have not been crowned 
with success, and it is more than probable that 
the treasure will forever remain lost to posterity. 

Another charming excursion that can be taken 
to the east of Charlotte-Amalia is a trip to the 
old Windberg Estate, with a further trip to the 
summit of Windberg itself. Windberg was well 
named "Windy Hill" by the first planter who 
8 113 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

owned land here, as even on the most sultry days 
there is upon its crest a constant chilly breeze 
But little remains of the old building, which was 
one of the first and most important plantation 
houses on the island. The walls and upper stories 
of the "Great House," as the owner's residence 
was always called in slave times, have been blown 
down by the successive hurricanes since the estate 
was left uncultivated after the abolition of slavery. 
But a tesselated floor of imported marble speaks 
volumes for the ease and luxury in which the 
old-time settlers lived, and the ruins of an enormous 
bake oven alongside the kitchen tell of the hos- 
pitality for which St. Thomas was famous. 

After examining the remains of the house, the 
traveler does well to make the precipitous ascent 
of the hill itself. Elevated perhaps twelve hun- 
dred feet above sea level, its crest offers a view to 
the eastward over St. John and the British Virgin 
Islands that rivals in beauty the seascape observed 
from Ma Folic. And even if the little trail is hard 
to ascend, and one Hves in fear that one's pony 
may slip while clambering upward, every visitor 
to the island should make the climb; it will prove 
a never-to-be-forgotten experience. 
114 



THE ISLAND OF BEAUTIFUL VIEWS 

After visiting Windberg, instead of returning 
by the same road, it is possible to take a road to 
the north coast and to return by the King Road to 
Magens Bay. This route leads past the Mandal 
Estate, where the unusually large ruins of an 
ancient sugar factory again speak of the former 
agricultural resources of St. Thomas. It is popu- 
larly believed by the natives that these ruins were 
at one time inhabited by an unfortunate sufferer 
from that dread tropical disease, leprosy, and that 
he died here in solitude and still haunts the spot. 
One cannot hire a St. Thomian of the lower classes 
to pass this road after nightfall, and even in the 
light of day those who are really superstitious 
unconsciously hasten their footsteps and show a 
desire to pass this spot as quickly as possible. 

In this district the hill slopes are covered with 
large forests of turpentine trees, perhaps the least 
attractive of West Indian trees, and certainly the 
most worthless of the flora of the Antilles. They 
have gawky, brown limbs and trunk, and one 
wonders to what use they can be put, or why an 
attractive landscape should be spoiled by their 
presence. The wood contains too much resin to 
make the tree of use for lumber, and yet the 

115 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

quantity is not enough to make the extraction of 
turpentine profitable. Furthermore, wherever for- 
ests of these trees are found, other vegetation seems 
to languish. The presence of these trees is there- 
fore rather undesirable and a detriment to an 
estate. 

Before reaching the road leading down to 
Magens Bay, the visitor passes an estate named 
Lovenlund, which is now used for the raising of 
cattle. 

In addition to the routes named, a multitude 
of small trails over the hills offer interesting 
excursions to the visitor to the eastern part of the 
island. Each trip he takes makes him eager for 
the pleasures that can be found in further explora- 
tions of the bypaths with a good horse. 

The excursions to be made west on St. Thomas 
are also of great interest. On leaving the out- 
skirts of the town, the traveler first passes the 
three different cemeteries that are kept in order 
by various congregations. Perhaps one of the most 
curious customs of the island is the manner in 
which the graves are ornamented. No rocks are 
found locally that are sufficiently hard and durable 
to serve as tombstones, so a St. Thomian makes 
116 




ft „.__,_>» 



A GUT AND STREET MADE LIKE A STAIRWAY 
CHARLOTTE-AMALIA 




NATIVE GRAVE ORNAMENTED WITH CONCH SHELLS, ST. THOMAS 




FIGURE-HKAOS OK OI.I) SAILING VESSELS IN KIMM HAY SIIII'TARn, ST. THOMAS 




KRUM BAT WITH SHIPYARD AND COCONUT TREES DESTROYED BY HURRICANE 

ST. THOiLAS 



THE ISLAND OF BEAUTIFUL VIEWS 

use of conch shells to ornament the graves of his 
dear ones. These shells, the mouths of which are 
a vivid pink, are set in the concrete edge surround- 
ing the grave and they form a decoration that is 
attractive even it if is somewhat unusual. On 
some West Indian islands a cemetery is sjmonymous 
with a thicket which has the appearance of an 
abandoned jungle, but on St. Thomas the ceme- 
teries indicate loving care. Even upon the most 
humble grave may be seen a small bunch of flowers, 
sometimes placed in a broken bottle. These 
flowers show as much tliought as the most elabo- 
rate floral tribute on the graves of those whose 
famihes are endowed with more worldly goods. 

After passing these burying grounds, the road 
branches to the north and to the south, and the 
southern and more level road leads by another 
Moravian missionary- station named Niesky. This 
is of somewhat later date than the New Hernhut 
station, but is in far better preservation and to-day 
is of more importance. Here is a very pretty little 
church and an imposing three-storied residence for 
the missionary in charge. There is also a school 
of some one hundred and fifty pupils under direct 
supervision of the missionary. 

117 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

The next point of interest on this road is Krum 
Bay, where is the important supply station of the 
West India and Panama Telegraph Company. 
This station was practically totally destroyed by 
the recent hurricane. Several of the smaller build- 
ings were completely turned over and storehouses 
with their valuable contents were greatly damaged. 
A plantation of coconut trees suflFered a like fate, 
the tops of the trees being damaged to such an 
extent that they will never again bear fruit. 

The tanks in which the submarine cables are 
kept in sea water, to prevent deterioration of their 
rubber coverings, are an interesting sight. It is 
a strange fact that rubber, which finds its origin 
in tropical countries, does not withstand the cli- 
matic conditions of the tropics once it has been 
prepared. In consequence, cable companies in 
these regions are forced to keep their spare cables 
constantly submerged. 

Directly across from the station of the telegraph 
company is the wrecking-yard which has made 
Krum Bay famous to dozens of marine insur- 
ance companies, and is of prime interest to 
all visitors to the island. For years, whenever a 
ship was forced to put into St. Thomas harbor in 
118 



THE ISLAND OF BEAUTIFUL VIEWS 

distress, in a dismasted or leaking condition, it 
was necessary for the agent of the underwriters to 
decide whether the vessel was worth repairing by 
the insurance companies, or if it should be written 
off their books as a total loss. It is whispered 
that on most occasions the inspectors found it 
necessary to condemn a disabled vessel. The ves- 
sel then was put up at public auction and sold for 
a mere song. The next procedure was to take the 
ship to Krum Bay, where it was stripped of its 
valuable parts, such as rigging, winches, anchors, 
masts, yards, et cetera. Then, if the ship was of 
wood, it was burned in order to save the copper 
nails and sheathing in its hull. Krum Bay, in 
consequence, has often been named "the grave- 
yard of ships," and for many years it was held in 
bad odor by the insurance companies. 

Of late years, however, these conditions have 
been changed, and the wrecking-yard pursues the 
legitimate calling of providing missing parts for 
storm-tossed ships which come to St. Thomas for 
repairs. 

The owner of the shipping yard has a small 

museum of curiosities which he at different times 

saved from ships, such as old style compasses, 

119 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

barometers, signal cannon, and a thousand and 
one other articles found on ancient wind-jammers 
before the advent of steam made navigation a 
matter of exact science. Here also is a strange 
collection of figure-heads from old sailing ships. 
The owner has around his dwelling house and 
repair shops perhaps eighteen or twenty of these 
curious relics. On one side is Joan of Arc, a gaudily 
dressed female who once was the pride of a sailing 
vessel of that name. Then a respectable old 
gentleman in a white choker collar calls to mind an 
old whaHng captain, who not only gave his name 
to the ship he owned but found it necessary to 
embellish his command with his own eflSgy. An 
American eagle speaks of the days when the fame 
of clipper ships was undimmed, and a Pocahontas, 
in conventional Indian dress with buckskin moc- 
casins, brings to mind the picture of a staunch old 
sailing vessel from a southern port. 

The owner of the yard is inordinately fond of 
these figure-heads and will not part with them at 
any price. Every year he decorates his charges 
with coats of paints of many hues, and he is only 
too glad to relate their history to visitors who call 
at his estabhshment. 
120 



THE ISLAND OF BEAUTIFUL VIEWS 

The road to the westward leads on to Mosquito 
Bay, where there is opportunity for excellent sea 
bathing. Beyond this comes Brewer's Bay, one 
of the most charming inlets on the island. The 
road then ascends the mountain range, and, after 
passing a few small settlements consisting of two 
or three houses, finally comes to Botany Bay on 
the extreme western end of the island. From 
Botany Bay, in plantation days, escaping slaves 
made their way to Porto Rico by way of the small 
cays which lie between St. Thomas and Porto Rico. 
They made the dangerous journey in canoes, which 
they either stole from their owners or found oppor- 
tunity to manufacture. The returning of these 
escaped slaves was always a matter of controversy 
between the Danish or Dutch owners and the 
Spanish authorities on Porto Rico, since the latter 
claimed that the slaves came to Porto Rico to be 
baptized in the Catholic religion. This was their 
excuse for retaining the valuable property. While 
the slaves went to Porto Rico to escape the cruelties 
of. Danish or Dutch owners, history does not state 
that they received any kinder treatment from the 
Spaniards, who were never noted for their gentle- 
ness toward those they held in bondage. 

121 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

Throughout St. Thomas are small patches of 
cultivated land which are tilled by the so-called 
*' cha-chas." These patches are frequently located 
on the precipitous slopes of the mountains and it 
is a wonder that the roots of plants can take 
hold there and that the agriculturists can keep 
their balance while engaged in tilling the soil. 
These cha-chas are white settlers who came origi- 
nally from the Dutch and French Leeward Islands. 
They have not intermarried with the negroes and 
they live to themselves, resenting any outside 
interference with their affairs. They are a hard 
drinking race, yet they are among the most indus- 
trious people on the island, and are especially good 
canoemen. Their canoes are not much better than 
boxes made from scraps of wood, but they manage 
not only to get about in them but also to prevent 
themselves from getting drowned. With their 
ruddy faces, stiffly starched blue shirts, tight white 
trousers and broad-brimmed straw hats of their 
own manufacture, they present a curious and 
unusual appearance. 



CHAPTER VI 
THE ROMANTIC STORY OF ST. JOHN 

IN THE DAYS ©F COMPANY RULE-ADVENTURES OF THE 
rniST SETTLERS-ENCOURAGEMENTS TO GROWERS OF 
SUGAR-CANE— THE HARSH MEASURES THAT INCITED A 
SLAVE INSURRECTION— A CAPTURED FORT, A SIEGE RE- 
LIEVED AND GUERILLA WARFARE— THE AFTERMATH OF 
THE REBELLION— INCREASING POPULATION 

HISTORY does not tell the exact year in 
which St. John was settled. As early as 
1687 the Danish West India and Guinea 
Company seems to have laid claim not only to St. 
Thomas but also to St. John and Crab (Vieques) 
Islands; at any rate the appointment papers of 
Governor Adolph Esmit, who succeeded Governor 
Milan in that year, included all these islands under 
his charge. This may, of course, have been an 
idle claim on the part of the company and an 
unwarranted assumption of authority over islands 
to which they had no right. Three years earlier, 
in 1684, with the aid of two merchants from Bar- 
badoes, an attempt seems to have been made to 
set up an establishment of a sort on St. John, but 
Governor Stapleton of the Leeward Islands sent 
two sloops and drove away the forty odd men that 
had established themselves there. 

123 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

In 1688 the Governor of St. Thomas was in- 
structed by the directors of the West India Com- 
pany to place from four to six men on the island 
of St. John and to encourage them to begin plant- 
ing, but it was not until 1717 that these plans were 
actually carried out. In 1716 the governor of 
St. Thomas wrote his directors that a number of 
his charges were anxious to settle on St. John, but 
that they were afraid to do so because the British 
from Tortola would allow no one of another 
nationality to go there and cut timber. In reply 
the directors sent instructions that the British 
claims to St. John were to be disregarded. Con- 
sequently, in 1717, Governor Erik Bredal took 
passage on an armed vessel with twenty planters, 
sixteen negroes, five soldiers and one officer, and 
landed on St. John in Coral Harbor Bay. 

The governor afterwards reported the adven- 
tures of the expedition, as follows : 

"I have planted there the flag of our most gra- 
cious king, and fired a salute, and then we feasted, 
and drunk the health, first of our sovereign, and 
then of the Company. Later, I selected a place 
on which to build a fort and a level place beneath 
it on which a village can stand. The harbor here 
124 



THE ROMANTIC STORY OF ST. JOHN 

is quite secure and when a person is in it, he sees 
land all about him. I have permitted the planters 
to indicate which pieces of land they preferred and 
have selected a place for the Company's plantation 
just a cannon-shot distance from the fort which 
is to be built there. Later, the planters have 
returned because of their fear of the Enghsh and 
are simply waiting cautiously to see what the latter 
will attempt." 

Although the planters returned to St. Thomas 
in trepidation, fearing an invasion by the British, 
the little garrison sent by the governor seems to 
have been made of sterner stuff. The sixteen 
negroes, helped by the five soldiers and commanded 
by the Danish officer, cleared ground around the 
site selected for the fort and made a road through 
the brush on which to drag the nine-pounders that 
were to be mounted on the redoubts. 

When the discovery was made that the Danes 
really intended to claim St. John and that, if 
necessary, they were ready to defend their claim, 
the governor of the Leeward Islands dispatched a 
man-of-war to Charlotte-Amalia to remonstrate 
with Governor Bredal and to intimidate him with 
threats of an armed descent upon the infant colony. 

125 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

Bredal returned a message to the British authorities 
that he was but following out the directions given 
him from Copenhagen. Forthwith he notified his 
directors of the threats that had been made, at 
the same time pleading for the sending from Den- 
mark of a reinforcement of a hundred men. Hav- 
ing additional forces, he seems to have considered 
that any British attempt to dislodge the new 
settlement on St. John was doomed to failure. 

St. John soon attracted other settlers from the 
neighboring island of St. Thomas, as can be 
gathered from the fact that by 1720 thirty -nine 
planters had received deeds to estates on the 
island. Exemptions from taxation were granted 
for the first eight years of residence and settlers 
were allowed to take as much lime and wood as 
they wanted free of cost in order to enable them 
to erect their buildings. They were requested to 
set up their sugar mills within five years after the 
land grant was made, and, in the event that they 
did not carry out this stipulation, their property 
was to revert to the West India Company. 

Not only did the new plantations prove to be 
more productive than those on less fertile St. 
Thomas, but grants of land to each settler were 
126 



THE ROMANTIC STORY OF ST. JOHN 

also fifty per cent, larger, so that it was not long 
before prosperity began to show itself and the 
island became a large sugar producing center. 

The settlers were of all nationalities, but the 
majority were of Dutch stock. Evidences of Dutch 
blood on the island are not lacking to-day, as many 
of the place-names are in the Dutch language. 
In 1733 St. John had a population of two hundred 
and eight whites and ten hundred and eighty-seven 
negro slaves. 

On November 13, 1733, a serious revolt of the 
St. John slaves took place. This revolt was indi- 
rectly due to the harsh measures adopted by Gov- 
ernor Gardelin, who, in order to stop the escapes 
of Africans to the neighboring island of Porto 
Rico, published a proclamation which imposed dire 
penalties for the punishment of offenders. The 
leader of runaway slaves was to be pinched thrice 
with red hot irons and then hung. Every runaway 
slave was to lose one leg or one ear, or he was to 
receive one hundred and fifty stripes in case his 
owner preferred that he be given the latter punish- 
ment. Any slave who knew of a plot to escape 
and did not inform his master was to be punished 
with a brand on the forehead as well as a hundred 

127 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

stripes. On the other hand, any slave who gave 
information of a plot was to be rewarded with 
ten dollars for every slave who proposed to take 
part in the plan to gain liberty. Any slave who 
lifted his hand against a white person was to be 
hung, in case the white person made this demand; 
if not, he was to lose his right hand. A slave who 
attempted to poison his master was to be pinched 
thrice with a red hot iron and then broken on the 
wheel. The proclamation that told of these penal- 
ties was to be repeated thrice a year to the beat of 
the drum. 

The slaves resented these terrible measures, and 
soon an open revolt broke out. Secret prepara- 
tions were made by them to surprise the garrison 
of the little fort overlooking Coral Bay, which was 
built in 1717. Here were stationed but eight sol- 
diers, commanded by a sergeant, and one officer. 
On the morning of November 23, 1733, the sentinel 
observed at the entrance of the fort a small band 
of negroes, carrying fagots of wood. When they 
were challenged they said that they were coming 
with wood for the soldiers. But as soon as the 
negroes were inside the gate they dropped the 
fagots aid massacred the garrison with the large 
128 



THE ROMANTIC STORY OF ST. JOHN 

cane-knives which had been hidden in the bundles. 
Only one soldier, who had hidden himself under a 
bed, escaped. Having disposed of the garrison, 
the victorious negroes gave the signal for a general 
massacre by firing three shots from the cannon 
on the fortifications. The murderous rebels then 
proceeded to the Caroline Estate, where they killed 
the judge of the island and his daughter, with 
twenty-five other men, women and children. 

In the meantime many of the planters, together 
with their families and such slaves as remained 
faithful to them, had betaken themselves to the 
estate of Peter Duerloo, called Little Cinnamon 
Bay, now known as K. C. Bay, on the northwest 
corner of the island. As the estate was built on an 
eminence and defended by two small cannon, the 
refugees felt that they could defend themselves 
there against the embittered slaves. Another ad- 
vantage was that they were within easy reach of 
St. Thomas. The women and children were sent by 
canoes to places of safety on nearby cays, while the 
men put their defenses in order and sent an urgent 
plea for assistance to the governor of St. Thomas. 

A number of revolting slaves soon arrived at 

the Duerloo estate, but they suffered severely 
9 129 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

from a discharge of grapeshot which killed a num- 
ber of them. Noting the preparations which had 
been made for defense, they could not summon 
enough courage to attempt to rush the improvised 

fort. 

Not long afterwards a boat with some eighteen 
soldiers arrived from St. Thomas. The governor 
also dispatched a larger body of troops to Coral 
Bay, on the other end of the island. After travers- 
ing the island these troops relieved the siege of 
Little Cinnamon Bay. 

For a time the revolting slaves were in com- 
mand of the situation. With the exception of 
Duerloo's estate, the entire island of St. John was 
at their mercy. There was much pillaging and 
burning of estate houses and sugar factories; prac- 
tically every estate suffered. Two attempts were 
made by the St. Thomas government to put an 
end to the uprising and to restore St. John to its 
legitimate owners. The authorities first secured 
the services of the captain of a British man-of-war 
that was just then paying a visit to Tortola. Land- 
ing forces from this frigate were ambushed by the 
negroes and were forced to withdraw with the loss 
of four wounded. 
130 



THE ROMANTIC STORY OF ST. JOHN 

Early in 1734, another British force of volun- 
teers from the island of Nevis attempted to dis- 
lodge the rebels, but these troops also suffered 
defeat with a loss of three men killed and five 
wounded, and left the island quicker than they came. 

During all these months, the slaves were in 
possession of the Coral Bay fort, which they seemed 
determined to hold at all odds, in spite of the fact 
that their supply of gunpowder was running low 
and that they had no means of obtaining a fresh 
stock. 

Becoming desperate, the colonists finally ap- 
pealed to the governor of the French island of La 
Martinique. This governor was informed that his 
men would be allowed to keep four-fifths of all the 
rebels captured, while the Danes would retain the 
remainder in order to punish them as an example 
and a warning to the slaves on St. Thomas in case 
they felt inclined to attempt a similar revolt. Two 
French barks were promptly dispatched with a 
body of two hundred and twenty men. To this 
force was added a Danish contingent, made up of 
the majority of the local soldiers, numerous planters 
and seventy-four loyal slaves from St. Thomas. 

After a landing was effected in Coral Bay, a 

131 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

guerilla warfare was begun, for the negro forces, 
abandoning the fort and splitting up into separate 
bands, were pursued in all directions. So desperate 
had the situation of the revolting slaves become 
that some of them were forced to arm themselves 
with bows and arrows, owing to the lack of gun- 
powder. 

It was not long before the pursuers were 
successful in their grim task. Numerous small 
bands of slaves were overtaken and killed after 
offering an unsuccessful resistance. Finally, on 
May 24, a small band of some twenty-four negroes 
was found dead in the jungle. Evidently the men 
had committed suicide when they found that their 
last hope of escape was gone and that the liberty 
for which they longed was forever out of their 
reach. It was then thought that all revolting 
negroes had been accounted for. 

Twenty-seven captured slaves who had taken 
part in the revolution were summarily executed as 
a warning to possible future wrong-doers. 

About two months after the departure of the 

French it was reported that a party of fourteen 

slaves were still at liberty. These also soon gave 

themselves up, relying on the promise of uncondi- 

132 



THE ROMANTIC STORY OF ST. JOHN 

tional pardon. This promise was not kept, how- 
ever, and they were all put to death. 

Of the ninety -two plantations on the island 
forty-eight had been damaged by the rebels, some 
of these having been totally destroyed. But 
another sad consequence of the affair was a quarrel 
between the planters and the Danish West India 
Company. The planters claimed that the original 
insurrection had been started on the Caroline 
Estate of the Company, by laborers belonging to 
the company. They also said that the fort had 
been left in an insecure condition and that it was 
not properly garrisoned, so that it had been easily 
surprised. For these reasons the planters refused 
to pay one-third of the expenses incurred in quel- 
ling the rebellion which the St. Thomas authorities 
wished to charge up to them. 

While the rebellion was the cause of a great 
deal of loss to the planters, some of whom were 
forced to leave the island and settle on Tortola in 
order to escape their debts, St. John must have 
speedily recovered its prosperity. At any rate, 
records show that in 1789 the island had a popula- 
tion of 2383, of whom 167 were white, while 16 
were free negroes and 2200 were slaves. 

133 



CHAPTER Vn 
AROUND ST. JOHN'S INDENTED COAST LINE 

THE PHYSICAL FEATURES OF ST. JOHN— MARKETING BY 
SAILBOAT— THE NAMING OF K. C. BAY— THE MISTAKE OF 
THE CORAL BAY BOOMERS— AN ATTRACTIVE CLIMATE— 
AN ISLAND WHOSE PROSPEROUS DAYS ARE IN THE FUTURE 

ST. JOHN lies in latitude 18 degrees, 20 
minutes N. and longitude 64 degrees, 45 
minutes W., and it is but three miles from 
the extreme western point of the island to the 
extreme eastern point of St. Thomas. Numerous 
cays lie between St. John and St. Thomas, but 
with the exception of Lovango Cay and Thatch 
Cay these are uninhabited. 

Strong currents set between the straits that 
divide the islands and the smaller cays, and navi- 
gation for large vessels is dangerous in the extreme 
unless a local pilot is on board to inform the com- 
mander as to the way in which the variable currents 
set at different times. 

St. John, unlike St. Thomas, is not surrounded 

by cays of any size. It approaches the British 

territory closely in the strait named The Narrows, 

where but one mile divides the United States 

134 



ST. JOHN*S INDENTED COAST LINE 

island of St. John from the British Thatch Island. 

St. John is nine miles long, while its breadth 
is irregular; at the widest point it is five miles 
across. The area is 19.77 square miles, or nearly 
12,700 acres, of which not over 400 acres are under 
cultivation. If the baytree groves are included, 
the total cultivated area might amount to about 
1600 acres. 

The island consists of a series of mountain 
peaks, which lie in no particular order; the entire 
island is made up of hills and valleys, with almost 
no level land. The only regular mountain range 
runs along the north coast, but this is not continu- 
ous and cannot rightly be named a range. The 
highest elevation is Camel Mountain, about 1300 
feet high. The next highest, Bourdeaux Mountain, 
is 1270 feet high. 

There are a number of small streams which 
empty on the south side into the sea, so that St. 
John is far better watered than the other islands 
of the group. While these streams are of no great 
size, they are sufficient to insure a supply of water 
at all times. A multitude of springs help to promise 
success to future agricultural efforts. 

The island is in large part of the same geological 

135 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

formation as St. Thomas, though a larger quantity 
of coraline limestone is found here. Copper- and 
iron-bearing rocks also are said to exist, and the 
presence of greenish and reddish stones at Reef 
Bay, in which copper can be detected, seem to 
bear out this statement. Yet it is not thought 
that the ores contain a suflficient quantity of metal 
to make the working of the deposits profitable. 
The land of the island is far more fertile than that 
of St. Thomas and the soil covering the rocks is 
found in far thicker layers. 

No ships called at St. John, with the exception 
of an occasional schooner which puts into Coral 
Bay to load cattle for the neighboring islands, and 
the only regular communication with St. Thomas 
consists of the bi-weekly trips of a small sloop 
which carries the mail from one island to the other. 
All inhabitants of any consequence own their little 
sailing boats which they use not only for fishing 
but also for the transportation of their humble 
products to the St. Thomas markets. 

The bays and inlets of St. John are not quite 

as numerous as those of St. Thomas, there being 

thirty-one on the former island and forty-five on 

the latter. Yet the entire island of St. John has 

136 




RUINS OF K. C. BAY SUGAR ESTATE, ST. JOHN 




FORT FREDERIKSTED, ST. CROIX 



:Sib« 




ST. JOHN'S INDENTED COAST LINE 

an indented shore line. Beginning on the west 
coast one finds Cruz Bay, where is one of the two 
fairly large settlements. This bay has for the last 
hundred years been the site of the government 
offices and the residence of the local official in 
charge of the island. A large building which was 
fort, jail, court house and residence of the poHce- 
master in one, testifies to the former importance 
of what is now an almost deserted island. 

To the north of Cruz Bay, one finds K. C. Bay, 
where the large ruins of Duerloo's estate call to 
mind the heroic defense of the settlers against the 
revolting slaves in 1733. The origin of the name 
"K. C. Bay" is curious. In the days of the first 
colonization a Hollander who started a plantation 
on the north coast of the island found a large cin- 
namon tree on the shores of the bay included in 
his land grant. He named his property "Caneel- 
boom," or Cinnamon Tree. In later years he 
owned another estate which he named "Klein 
Caneelboom," or Little Cinnamon Tree. This 
name proved too much for the linguistic attain- 
ments of the other settlers, and in the course of 
time the abbreviation K. C. Bay found popular 

acceptance. 

137 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

After beautiful K. C. Bay one comes to Dennis 
Bay. The next bay to the north is Cinnamon Bay, 
and Maho Bay comes next. Finally, Francis Bay 
lies to the west of Mary's Point. On the other 
side of the point, still on the north coast, is found 
Leinster Bay, the estate house of which atone 
time boasted the presence of the one Masonic 
Lodge on the island. The entire upper part o| 
this "great house" which was situated on a hill 
overlooking the bay, was demohshed by the hur- 
ricane of October, 1916, and the majority of the 
owner's effects were blown down the hill into the 
sea. Brown's Bay and Mennebeck Bay are also 
found on the north coast toward the eastern part 
of the island. 

On the extreme eastern peninsula is found 
Privateer Bay, named after the sea rovers who 
used to put in here to careen their ships. Reports 
are current in the East End settlement— the second 
of the two most important settlements of St. John 
—that there is pirates' gold in the sands surround- 
ing this bay, and many a futile search has been 
made for this. 

Then comes Coral Bay. Extending inland from 
Red Point on the east to Ram's Head on the west, 

138 



ST. JOHN'S INDENTED COAST LINE 

this bay has numerous inlets, of which Hansen 
Bay, Watercreek Bay, Hurricane Hole and Coral 
Harbor Bay are the most important. Coral Bay 
is by far the best harbor in the Lesser Antilles, 
and even boasts of many advantages which surpass 
those of the wonderful bay of St. Thomas. It is 
less exposed to the south and is absolutely pro- 
tected from all other points of the compass, so 
that, in case of a hurricane, ships lying in the bay 
would have but to shift their anchorage to any 
one of the deep indentations of Hurricane Hole in 
order to be able to ride out the storm in perfect 
safety. The shores of the bay are steep, and vessels 
of large draught can come quite close to the shore. 
The numerous peninsulas serve admirably for 
the erection of warehouses and piers. Of late years 
a number of St. Thomians, hearing rumors of the 
possible acquisition of the islands by the United 
States, bought up several of the abandoned estates 
lying upon the bay. Their idea was that the naval 
authorities might decide to use Coral Bay for a 
base instead of the harbor of Charlotte-Amaha. 
A little reflection on the part of the speculators 
might have convinced them of the impracticability 
of this idea, for the mountains of the neighboring 

139 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

island of Tortola completely overlook the bay and 
are but four miles removed from the inlets, as the 
crow flies. It would, of course, not be wise to 
build a naval station on the shores of a bay that 
could be controlled completely by an eminence on 
an island belonging to another nation, upon which 
the mounting of guns of heavy calibre would be 
an easy matter. The harbor of St. Thomas does 
not have a like drawback. 

It is not conceivable that Coral Harbor will 
ever be able to supplant the harbor of Charlotte- 
Amalia even in commercial importance, since 
steamers would not here find the facilities for 
loading and unloading their cargo and for filling 
their bunkers with coal which they at present have 

on St. Thomas. 

The south coast of the island is precipitous and 
has but few bays that are easy of approach. The 
promontory of Ram's Head, which forms the west- 
ern boundary of Coral Bay, is usually given a 
wide berth by local sailors; the seas run high in 
this neighborhood, and the cliff-like rocks make 
landing an impossibility. 

After passing this dangerous spot, one comes 
to Lamesure Bay and then to Reef Bay, a reef- 
140 



ST. JOHN'S INDENTED COAST LINE 

girdled inlet formerly of importance as a sugar 
shipping center. Continuing to the westward, 
Fish Bay and Rendezvous Bay are found, the 
latter so named because it was the favorite meeting 
place for certain privateers who assembled here to 
prepare for their piratical raids upon the St. 
Thomas shipping. The last bay, on the southwest 
coast, is Great Cruz Bay. 

No statistics are available as to the climate of 
St. John. In general, it can safely be said that 
the average temperature here is fully five degrees 
lower than on St. Thomas, even on the areas lying 
at sea level. A stay at Cruz Bay or on the north 
coast will speedily convince the traveler that he 
must sleep under a blanket, and if he spends a 
night in the mountains he will find the air quite 
bracing. 

The rainfall has never been systematically 
measured, but it is undoubtedly far larger here 
than on any other island of the group. In all 
probability this is due to the forests which still 
cover the hilltops. 

This island also lies in the hurricane belt, and 
it did not escape from damage during the disaster 
of October, 1916. In fact, the storm was more 

141 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

destructive here than on St. Thomas, although— 
owing to the comparatively few settlers on St. John 
—the material damage was not great. The Mora- 
vian missionary station and settlement of Emmaus, 
on the shores of Coral Bay, was among the worst 
sufferers and the church, living house and school- 
house were totally wrecked. Practically all the 
lime and coconut trees were destroyed and the 
baytrees were stripped of their leaves and badly 
damaged. The forests were devastated and the 
ruins of many an old and forgotten plantation- 
house, which had been hidden by the jungle, came 
to light with the removal of the larger trees. 

No snakes or poisonous insects other than the 
usual centipedes and scorpions are found on the 
island. Mosquitoes are few, but sand-flies generally 
herald the approach of a coming rain by their 
vicious bites. In this respect the island is not so 
different from the other Antilles, where some kind 
of similar affliction is always found, reminding 
the visitor that even the happy existence of the 
tropics has a few drawbacks. 

It is needless to speak of the sanitary conditions 
of the island. Since there are no settlements of 
any size, epidemics do not take place and malarial 
142 



ST. JOHN'S INDENTED COAST LINE 

fevers are unknown. The natives sometimes suffer 
from fevers which are attributed to malaria, but 
an investigation will show that these were brought 
on by exposure and carelessness. During the last 
two years of the Danish rule no physician was 
stationed on the island. A St. Thomian doctor 
came here every month or two for a short visit, 
staying just long enough to reheve the ailments of 
the few patients to be found. 



CHAPTER VIII 
THE CINDERELLA OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

REMINDERS OF FORMER RICHES-COMMERCIAL AND AGRI- 
CULTURAL POSSIBILITIES-THE MAKING OF BAY RUM- 
CATTLE RAISING AND FISHING-THE STORY OF THE PETRO- 
GLYPHS-SCENERY AND RUINS TO DELIGHT THE VISITOR 
—THE CROSS AT REEF BAY— LEGENDS OF SLAVERY DAYS- 
TREASURES OF OLD FURNITURE-THE POSSIBILITIES OF 
ST. JOHN 

ST. JOHN has a population of not over nine 
hundred. Possibly the number is even 
smaller, no census having been taken for 
a considerable period. Of this population fully 
ninety-nine per cent, are colored. 

Like the St. Thomas negro, the St. John negro 
is noted for his politeness. Added to this virtue 
is friendliness toward strangers. The negroes are 
very accommodating, without a thought of recom- 
pense for their services, as many a visitor has 
learned during a stay on the island. For instance, 
should one get lost on one of the mountain trails 
he would need only to tell of his predicament to 
the first native he meets. At once the native would 
accompany the stranger and show him the right 
road. He will expect no reward, nor will he think 
144 



CINDERELLA OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

of the possibility of reward, even though he be 
suffering from the pangs of hunger and though he 
may have gone far out of his way to be of service. 

There is much misery and want on the island. 
This is due to the lack of work and the very small 
wages which the planters — who themselves are 
forced to lead a hand-to-mouth existence — are 
able to pay. Unlike a St. Thomian, a native of 
St. John is too fond of his little island to wish 
to seek employment elsewhere. He may occa- 
sionally sign on as a sailor on some local vessel, 
but the ties which bind him to his own island are 
too close to alldw him to remain content with a 
prolonged absence. He is ready to eke out an 
existence on the wages of whatever work he can 
obtain here, rather than try for higher wages 
elsewhere. 

The inhabitants make their living principally 
by the collecting and selling of the bayleaves to 
the owners of the stills which manufacture the 
essential oil of bay rum. They are paid eight 
cents fojT a bag of leaves weighing sixty-five to 
seventy pounds. This opportunity is presented 
only during certain seasons. The natives are also 
experts at the building of small saihng boats; poor 
10 145 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

indeed is the man who does not own a small craft 
of some kind with which he can go out and obtain 
his supply of sea food. 

The two principal villages of the island are 
at Cruz Bay, where perhaps a hundred and fifty 
natives reside, and at East End, where there are 
not more than a hundred. Still another settle- 
ment is the Moravian station of Emmaus in the 
neighborhood of which about twelve families, con- 
sisting of some sixty persons, have settled. These 
three villages have schools with a fairly good 
attendance. In recent years the Moravian mis- 
sionaries have made attempts to teach the chil- 
dren and the women to make baskets of a wiry 
kind of grass that grows here in abundance. It 
is quite possible that ultimately the sale of these 
baskets to visiting tourists on St. Thomas may 
become the means of providing many a St. John 
family with pin-money. There is no reason why 
brooms should not be made of this same grass, 
for it is well adapted to the purpose. The scarcity 
of broom corn in the United States and the high 
price of labor there would help in the development 
of a profitable industry. 

The ruins of sugar estates everywhere convince 
146 



CINDERELLA OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

one of the former importance of this island and 
of the riches that are lying idle in its fertile fields. 
Of late a number of planters have made attempts 
to raise on these abandoned estates lime trees, 
from whose fruits the citric acid and the lime juice 
of commerce are manufactured. With slight in- 
vestment this venture should become profitable. 
Machinery could be installed to crush the fruit, 
and the old sugar kettles could be employed to 
evaporate the critic acid from the juice. 

Yet another industry of the island is the 
manufacture oi charcoal, which commands a ready 
market on St. Thomas. Practically all cooking in 
the West Indies is done over charcoal stoves, for 
charcoal is always available on the wooded islands 
and this fuel does not heat up the kitchen as would 
a coal-burning range. There is a great deal of 
timber on the abandoned estates of St. John, so 
the inhabitants are never at a loss for wood which 
can be manufactured into charcoal. The smoke 
arising from the charcoal pits is a familiar feature 
of the landscape. 

The commercial and agricultural possibilities 
of St. John are great. In the first place, the bay- 
tree (Pimenta acris) flourishes on the little island. 

147 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

It has been found by actual experience that this 
bay tree is somewhat erratic and is most particular 
as to its habitat. Attempts have been made to 
grow it on various islands, and practically all 
attempts were failures. Even on St. John, small 
as it is, it seems that the trees do well only in 
certain parts and are unable to gain a foothold in 
other parts. Why this is so has never been satis- 
factorily explained. But even with this drawback 
there are to-day many regions of St. John where 
an extensive cultivation of the baytree would be 
highly profitable. The trees are not regularly 
planted or set out at the present time, and prop- 
agation is entirely due to natural agents, such 
as the birds and the winds, which scatter the 
seeds. 

The leaves of the baytree are gathered by 
breaking small twigs from the tree and afterwards 
separating them from these twigs. Instead of 
harming the tree, this breaking off of the smaller 
branches seems to improve it; several branches 
will sprout from the break made by the removal of 
a single branch. The leaves are then distilled in 
copper stills of the usual type. This distillation 
results in the collecting of the essential oil, the 
148 







.titi&A 



EAST END, ST. JOHN 




BAY-OIL STILL, ST. JOHN 



CINDERELLA OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

bay-oil, which is contained in the minute cells of 
the leaves. The bay-oil is sent to St. Thomas and 
is there mixed with white rum or alcohol in the 
ratio of about one quart of oil to five hundred 
quarts of rum, the resulting product being the 
bay-rum of commerce. If cheap alcohol or rum 
is used the product does not have the delicate 
odor which is found when better grades are em- 
ployed. The essential oil, which is worth from 
five to seven dollars per quart, has a strong acrid 
odor. 

Occasionally bay -rum is made by distilling the 
bay leaves directly in the rum, but this method is 
slower and far more expensive. It has practically 
been discontinued, although bay -rum made in this 
manner is superior in quality and commands a 
higher price. 

The bay industry, therefore, presents one of the 
possibilities of St. John. While various proprietors 
are at present engaged in the cultivation of the 
trees and the distilling of the oil, there can be no 
doubt that development of this industry would 
result in material benefit, especially if a more 
modern type of still for the collection of the oil 
were employed. 

149 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

Again, St. Jolin offers great possibiKties as a 
cattle raising center. While the ground is gener- 
ally steep and hilly, the slopes are covered with 
excellent grass of all varieties and offer feeding 
grounds for thousands of herds of cattle. At the 
present time cattle raising is neglected by the 
majority of landowners, there being but two real 
stock farms on the island, with a total of about 
six hundred head of cattle. Because of the in- 
creased population that will come to the neighbor- 
ing island of St. Thomas through the prospective 
establishment of a naval station there, and because 
of the fact that no duty would have to be paid on 
cattle exported to Porto Rico since the two islands 
are under the same government, a ready market 
would be found for all cattle raised on St. John. 
There would be no rivalry in cattle production on 
the other islands of the group, for St. Thomas 
cannot compare with St. John for pasturage or 
for water supply and practically all of St. Croix 
is given up to sugar cultivation. 

The water surrounding the numerous small cays 

that encircle St. John literally swarms with fish of 

all species. Perhaps no better fishing grounds can 

be found in the Antilles than those between St. 

150 



CINDERELLA OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

John and the cays to the westward — Congo Cay, 
Lovango Cay, Mingo Cay, and Grass Cay. Yet 
there is always an unsatisfied demand for fresh 
fish in Charlotte-Amalia, and this demand must 
increase in the future. What then could be a more 
profitable investment than a suitable fishing boat 
with a motor auxiliary? It can find a safe harbor 
in any one of the numerous bays of St. John and, 
with this island as a center, can fish the surround- 
ing waters and carry the catch to the St. Thomas 
market. 

From the point of view of a tourist anxious to 
try his piscatorial luck, a visit to the little cays 
between the two larger islands is well worth while. 
Lovango Cay is inhabited by a Danish fisherman 
who rents the little island from the government 
and who would be ready to show the visitor the 
best location for fishing. By either trolling or rod 
fishing success is certain as soon as the bait has 
been in the water for the briefest possible time. 

No better place for rod fishing can be found 
than on Congo Cay, which is located due north of 
Lovango Cay and faces the wide Atlantic. A 
visit to this rocky island is an event. It consists 
of nothing but a collection of boulders which give 

151 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

the impression that they must have been piled 
one on top of the other by some giant who wished 
to amuse himself. Congo Cay presents a forbid- 
ding appearance. Vegetation is noticeable by its 
absence. The island resembles the upstanding fin 
of a shark. But one landing place is found here, 
and that is a mere ledge about two feet above 
water level and not more than six feet wide and 
twelve feet long. The visitor who is desirous of 
fishing here must be quick of eye and nimble of 
foot as he takes a hurried jump out of the rowboat 
which carries him to his destination. Should a 
heavy sea be running it would be inadvisable to 
attempt to make the landing, for not only would 
there be danger of smashing the boat on the rocks, 
but, even if a landing is made, it might prove 
impossible to embark for the return journey. 

The best rod fishing is to be had on the extreme 
eastern point of Congo Cay. Fish of all varieties 
seem to congregate directly under the rocks, which 
are some twenty feet above sea level, and to show 
an eager desire to be caught. 

The visitor is reminded here also of the abo- 
rigines of St. Thomas in pre-Columbian times, who 
must have come here for the fishing, for in the rocks 
152 



CINDERELLA OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

there are a number of small cavities, perfectly 
rounded, in which the Indians evidently pounded 
the salt used to preserve the fish they caught. 
There is evidence that, while not engaged in fish- 
ing, they were employed in carving a series of 
apparently meaningless figures upon a large, flat 
boulder on the eastern extremity of the cay. 
Carvings of this character are named pictographs, 
or petroglyphs. 

"Petroglyph!" Unless one should happen to 
be a professional archeologist, he may have to 
consult a dictionary to find out the meaning of 
this word. And yet it is rather simple: Petro 
means stone, and glyph means a sign, so that the 
complete word merely means a sign carved on 
stone. So there you are, and the next time that a 
passing gypsy carves a cabalistic sign upon the 
stone pillars of your front entrance, signifying 
that you keep a savage dog on your estate, and 
that your property had best be left unvisited, 
remark it well, for you will then actually be the 
proud possessor of a bona fide petroglyph. 

And so the Indians of the Antilles, in the days 
before the coming of the Spanish conquistadors, 
had an amusing habit of carving signs upon rocks 

153 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

in certain of the islands inhabited by them. This 
habit not only provided the carver with the whole- 
some satisfaction that accompanies honest toil, but 
it has since provided countless archeologists and 
amateur archeologists with the joy of attempting 
to decipher the meaning of the carvings. This is 
especially true in the case of amateur archeolo- 
gists, who see the most wonderful significance m 
the humblest carving, so that the Simon-pure 
archeologist not only has the original pleasure of 
trying to unravel the mystery of the petroglyph, 
but is permitted the additional joy of scoffing at 
the attempts of the amateur. Thus the circle is 
completed, and the shade of the Indian chuckles 
with glee at the problems bestowed by him upon 
those who have come after him. 

Chalk is the principal weapon of the petro- 
glyph hunter and is used by him to make the 
marking of the carvings more distinct, so that 
they will show up more clearly in the photographs. 
There is nothing to prevent an enthusiast from 
adding a carving or two of his own, not necessarily 
by hewing grooves in the living rock, but by the 
more simple and direct method of adding with 
chalk such Unes as his fancy dictates. But that, 
of course, is another story. 
154 



CINDERELLA OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

Petroglyphs are to be found on many of the 
islands of the West Indies. In fact, they are 
found from the northern Hmits of North America 
to the southernmost point of South America. 
Naturally, many of them have become obliterated 
by the action of the weather on the rocks. In 
addition to this, numerous rock carvings must still 
be hidden by the undergrowth of the primeval 
forests, or be in such inaccessible places that their 
very existence is unsuspected. When they are 
found in the open, the rocks with carvings upon 
them are generally near running water. 

It is one of the favorite theories of the local 
historians of the West Indies that the presence of 
these petroglyphs indicates the existence of a pre- 
Columbian place of worship. Using this theory 
as a base, the local authors as a rule begin to write 
of "Carib sacrifices," "Carib orgies," and what 
not, and make good copy out of the bloodcurdling 
yells of the unhappy victims of this fierce warrior 
tribe. But probably posterity will never know the 
true significance of these rock carvings, nor will 
it ever understand the vagaries of the Indian mind 
which made them. 

The carvings on Congo Cay are on the rock at 

155 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

the extreme eastern part of the island. The rock 
lies almost horizontally and faces, to the eastward, 
a small island named Caravel Rock. There is a 
large cavity in the center of this rock, and one 
visitor suggested that this cavity was artificial and 
might have been used to store the blood of the 
victims of the Carib sacrifices. But here is another 
chance to see what a difference there is between 
cold facts and charming theories. In the first 
place, no proof ever has been brought forward 
that the islands of St. John and St. Thomas 
were inhabited by Caribs. In the second place 
Congo Cay, bleak, barren, hard to land on, 
and with no place upon which to hold sacri- 
ficial ceremonies, would be too exposed to the 
neighboring islands to allow Que to suppose that 
a marauding tribe of piratical Caribs would have 
selected this place for the cannibal feasts. Third, 
the cavity in the rock was undoubtedly caused by 
the decomposition of the stone, and there are sev- 
eral rocks on Congo Cay that have cavities of this 
order. It is true that the opening of the cavity is 
somewhat smaller than the area of the lower sur- 
face of the hole, but one can readily see that the 
cavity would fill up with sea water whenever the 
156 



-ZX" 




HOSPITABLE CONGO CAY, ST. JOHN 



=.-- ^ 




THE ONLY LANDING-PLACE ON CONGO CAT 






PRIVATEER BAY, ST. JOHN 







BUILDINGS ON CAROLINE ESTATE, AND BAY-OIL STILL, ST. JOHN 



CINDERELLA OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

waves broke over Congo Cay during stormy- 
weather and that this water would attack the 
sides of the cavity and make it^ larger without 
necessarily enlarging the mouth. 

But to return to the mainland and to the sub- 
ject of sugar, St. John is not well adapted to the 
cultivation of cane and the manufacture of sugar, 
under modern conditions. Because of the present 
cost of labor this island, with its steep roads and 
hills, could not compete with sugar plantations on 
islands where flat areas make the gathering of the 
cane an insignificant item of expense. Even in 
the days of long ago the collecting of the sugar 
cane at the mill was done with a considerable 
expenditure of trouble and labor. Wooden troughs 
led down the incline to the level roads, and the 
cane was shot down these inchnes and loaded on 
wagons when it reached the road. Many stories 
have been told of slaves who were decapitated or 
who lost a leg or an arm when they were struck 
by a heavy piece of sugar cane which escaped from 
the trough and came hurtling with terrific force 
through the air. On some estates it was found 
necessary to arrange some sprt of cable tramway 

to convey the cane to the mill. On the summit of 

157 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

some of the hills immense lignum-vitse posts are 
still found to which these cables were attached. 

But if the production of sugar would not be 
profitable, undoubtedly truck farming would am- 
ply reward one who undertakes it on a large scale 
and the raising in the West Indies of all sorts of 
vegetables is a possibility which is frequently and 
strangely overlooked. The consumption of canned 
vegetables by the well-to-do in these regions is 
quite large, and the small quantities of fresh vege- 
tables that are raised are in demand at good prices, 
It is a common mistake to suppose that the tropics 
are not suited to the production of garden truck. 
As a matter of fact, tomatoes, lettuce, beans, 
melons, et cetera, not only thrive when well 
watered, but bear more abundantly than in north- 
ern climates. The raising of these vegetables on 
St. John would give employment to many, and a 
profitable market in St. Thomas would be assured. 
Another possibility is the erection of tourist 
hotels on St. John. The acquisition of the island 
by the United States should make these popular 
with the tourist. St. John should be even more 
popular than St. Thomas, for while St. Thomas is 
attractive because it has a busier outlook on ac- 
158 



CINDERELLA OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

count of the many ships that enter its wonderful 
harbor, and because of its magnificent scenery, 
St. John excels in scenery, and scenery attracts 
the tourist. Climb any hilltop in St. John and 
look north, east, south or west, and unrivaled 
views delight the eye. The surrounding islands of 
vivid green serve only to make more pronounced 
the contrast between the pale blue sky and the 
dark blue sea. Surely no other island in the 
Antilles offers views that can compare with this in 
natural beauty. 

But St. John has other attractions for the tour- 
ist than its scenery. If one is searching for the 
picturesque, it may be found in abundant measure 
in the ruins of the old plantation buildings whose 
walls and quaint staircases still exist in the tropical 
undergrowth. What can be more interesting than 
the exploration of an old mill with kettles for the 
boiling of syrup still intact, and of the remains of 
a "great house" with its imposing avenue and slave 
quarters and kitchens nearby.^ Is the visitor in- 
terested in boating, bathing, hunting, or riding? 
The forty odd bays of the island will repay a sys- 
tematic exploration with a small yacht, and will 
astound one with the variety of their scenery. 

159 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

Sea bathing here is equal to any in the West Indies 
and excels that at many of the resorts that are 
famed for this attraction. Then pigeons and doves 
are found at all seasons; these make excellent 
shooting and good eating. 

There is no road on St. John that is more than 
a bridle path; but also let it be said that there is 
no road that does not have features to delight the 
visitor. The road most commonly used by the 
inhabitants leads from Cruz Bay through the 
center of the island to Emmaus, and from there 
to the East End settlement. Directly after leav- 
ing the Cruz Bay landing one ascends the hill, 
passing, in turn, Herman Farm with its extensive 
ruins, and Adrian, another forgotten plantation 
which is almost entirely obliterated by the jungle. 
At Esperance a road branches off to the south coast 
and to Eeef Bay. This branch road leads over the 
summit of Camel Mountain, the highest peak on 
the island, and then dips toward the sea at a 
precipitous angle. 

Some half mile inland from the shores of Reef 

Bay one obtains a distant glimpse of the Reef Bay 

waterfall. A searching glance is necessary, as it 

is hard to make out the thin thread of water that 

160 



CINDERELLA OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

comes tumbling from the heights above. The 
rocks back of the waterfall are plainly to be seen, 
however. It is said that this waterfall is never 
dry. Occasionally it becomes so small as to be 
almost negligible, but it never seems entirely to 
vanish. One is privileged to surmise, therefore, 
that in pre-Columbian days, when the woods of 
the island were still intact and fulfilled their pur- 
pose in drawing water from the clouds, the volume 
of water passing over the rocks must have been 
considerably larger. 

There are in reality two falls, but the higher 
fall is difiicult of access. The lower fall is about 
forty-five feet high. As the crow flies, it is not 
over one and a quarter miles from the sea and 
not more than half a mile from the road. In order 
to visit it, it is necessary to follow a dried-up 
watercourse, and then cut a way through a some- 
what dense thicket. Before the hurricane of 
October, 1916, there was a small footpath follow- 
ing this water course, and the ascent to the falls 
was far easier than it is to-day. 

The lower fall empties itself into a pool some 
five feet deep and about twelve feet in diameter. 
This pool empties its contents into a second pool 
11 161 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

about seven feet lower than the first. The second 
pool, in which the water is quite tranquil, is about 
six and one-half feet deep, fourteen feet wide and 
nine feet broad, and makes an excellent bathing 
place. The water, filtered during its long passage 
through the hills, is excellently adapted for drink- 
ing purposes, and it is possible that the Indians 
inhabiting the south coast of St. John must have 
come here for their supply of drinking water. 

Around this pool, in which bathing is a pleas- 
ure—a cold pleasure— one finds huge boulders 
upon which are more of the aboriginal carvings 
known as petroglyphs. 

There really are three sets of rock carvings on 
the stones surrounding the pool, and it is impos- 
sible to get all three sets in one picture. The most 
elaborate set is found just above the edge of the 
pool and the Indians seem to have designed the 
carvings so that their reflection would show clearly 
in the water. A few of the figures seem to depict 
a very crudely drawn human face, consisting of a 
circle for the face, with smaller circles or just 
dots for the eyes, and a line for the mouth. In 
one or two instances some extra hues below the 
large circle may represent arms and legs. But the 
162 



CINDERELLA OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

reader is at liberty to scoff at this suggestion. 
The largest figure of all, in appearance somewhat 
Uke a figure eight, or like a sand glass, is perhaps 
the most inexplicable. 

In order to give one some idea of these carv- 
ings, it may be said that from the figure on the 
extreme left side of the rock, just above the water 
line, to the figure on the extreme right hand side, 
just above the water line, is a distance of ten feet 
four inches. 

. On the same large rock, a little to the left, but 
at a much higher point above the pool, one can 
find another series of petroglyphs even more enig- 
matical than those just above the water level. 
This group consists of six figures, two of which 
represent somewhat simply designed human forms 
— strongly reminiscent of the pictures chalked by 
children on wooden fences — and two simple faces. 

On the extreme western side of the pool is 
another rock upon which are seen three more 
carvings. This rock may well be named the 
" Archeologist's Delight." No doubt every person 
who ever has seen it, excepting of course the origi- 
nal Indians, has evolved some deep theory regard- 
ing the carvings on this boulder. Almost any 

163 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

meaning may be given to two of the three figures, 
the one on the extreme left of the photograph and 
the one directly above the carving that looks 
exactly like a cross. It is therefore possible to 
eliminate two carvings at the very start, which 
is far more than would be done by seriously minded 
amateur archeologists who would deem it their duty 
to explain fully these two problematical carvings. 
But there still remains the crosslike figure. 
Can it be that the teachings'of Christianity had 
penetrated to the New World before the discovery 
of St. John and the Virgin Island group in 1493? 
This is to be doubted. Then were the Indians 
converted to Christianity by the piously inclined 
conquistadors? Considering that these same con- 
quistadors were responsible for the total extermi- 
nation of the Indian race some thirty years after 
the discovery of the West Indies, this also is to be 
doubted. Then why the cross? Perhaps the most 
ingenious explanation is the one found in an early 
history of the Danish West Indies in which the 
author states that the Spanish monks saw the other 
carvings on the rocks and deemed them to be the 
work of the Devil. In order speedily to overcome 
the evil influence, the earnest friars carved the 
164 




di& 



PETROGLYPHS ON CONGO CAY 
Caravel Rock in Middle Ground 




THE CAROLINE ESTATE HOUSE AND PASTURE, ST. JOHN 




mm,^"%^- 



THE CROSS THAT IS NOT A CROSS, REEF BAY, ST. JOHN 




INDIAN PETROGLTPHS, REEF BAY, ST. JOHN 



CINDERELLA OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

sign of the cross on the rock, thereby neutralizing 
all other influences. 

But the carving of the cross appears to be of 
the same age as the other figures on the same rock. 
And the suggestion is made that the sign of the 
cross has been found in many places to which it is 
positively known that Christianity never pene- 
trated. Yet the sign is there, and has been found 
in many forms, perhaps one of the most common 
of which is the swastika sign. This sign repre- 
sents nothing more than the four cardinal points of 
the compass, east, south, west and north, and by a 
process of evolution first became a figure resembling 
two interlaced S figures and finally a simple cross. 
But when challenged on the subject, we must 
withdraw this explanation of the cross figure at 
Reef Bay. The carving representing the cross 
stands seventeen inches high, and the length of 
the cross arm is eleven inches. 

It is time to turn from the mysterious petro- 
glyphs and follow the south coast, by the Parforce 
Estate, once the property of one of the richest 
planters on the island. Rather than use ordinary 
plaster for the finishing of his walls, this land- 
owner had them decorated with ground rice mixed 

165 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

with some adhesive substance; he claimed that 
this gave the walls a smoother appearance. He 
lived to regret his extravagance, when the abolition 
of slavery changed his former prosperous position 
to one of dire poverty. 

The road now mounts again, and after an ardu- 
ous climb the traveler reaches the summit of Bor- 
deaux Mountain, the second highest peak of St. 
John. From here one seems almost able to touch 
the crest of Sage Mountain on Tortola, so near 
does this elevation appear to be in the bright 
atmosphere of the tropics. The best view of Coral 
Bay can be had from this peak, and the white 
buildings of the Emmaus settlement form a promi- 
nent feature of the landscape. 

Descending toward the bay, the first estate 
reached is the Caroline property, famous in the 
annals of the slave insurrection. Here, it is said, 
the murdered daughter of the St. John judge still 
haunts the rooms of the "great house." Emmaus 
is reached next and one had to admire the industry 
of the Moravian Brethren who, in the eighteenth 
century, despite opposition and poverty, were able 
to erect the large buildings that were found here 
previous to the hurricane of 1916. 
166 



CINDERELLA OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

A little further along, on the road which leads 
to the East End settlement, the extreme eastern 
inhabited point of the island, one passes the re- 
mains of the fort whose garrison was massacred 
in 1733. A cannon or two is still embedded on the 
hillslope. Then the road continues along the south 
coast, up hill and down dale, and one has every 
opportunity of admiring the extensive inlets which 
form part of Coral Bay, whenever the road rises 
to any height above sea level. The pretentious 
farm of Hermitage, with its numerous buildings, 
is passed. This estate, like the Caroline Estate, 
is devoted to stock raising. Finally, one gets to 
the East End settlement, whose inhabitants live 
their quiet lives far removed from the bustle of 
the outside world. 

The explorer must return by the same road 
until he again reaches Hermitage. There he can 
take a branch road leading to the north coast of 
the island. The road to the westward along the 
north coast offers even more scenic splendors than 
does the south coast road, since the island of 
Tortola presents a succession of views that delight 
the eye. 

The first estate one comes to on going west is 

167 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

Leinster Bay, where an excellent boarding house 
for use by occasional visitors was once kept. The 
storm of 1916 blew this house down. The wonder- 
ful old mahogany furniture that was the envy of all 
who came to stay here was scattered in all directions. 

Near by are the remains of the building occu- 
pied by the only Masonic Lodge on St. John. 
One can almost picture the banquets held by the 
Masons when they assembled here in the olden 
days, when feasts were of first importance in the 
life of the West Indian planters. 

Annaberg, also called Brim Bay, is the next 
estate. Report has it that when the slave revolt 
of 1733 was being put down, three hundred of the 
rebels were found upon a precipitous cliff that 
can be seen on this estate and, rather than suffer 
capture, dashed themselves on the rocks below. 
While an act of this kind might actually have been 
committed by one or two of the slaves, the story 
can hardly be true of such a large number as 
three hundred, for the entire number of the rebels 
at large did not amount to this total. 

There is an excellent view from this road of 
Mary's Point, a square peninsula which reaches 
out toward the British Thatch Island. The Nar- 
168 



CINDERELLA OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

rows between Thatch Island and the mainland of 
St. John are only a mile wide. In former days 
slaves who thought they might meet with kinder 
treatment on Tortola than they had experienced 
from their Danish owners, used to defy the numer- 
ous sharks found in these waters and swim across 
the strait. It must be remembered that slavery 
was abolished on the British islands of the West 
Indies in 1838 but that the institution continued 
its existence on the Danish islands until 1848. 
Thus if any slave held on St. John between these 
dates managed to reach British territory, he 
immediately became free, so long as he remained 
there. 

Even after the days of fleeing slaves there was 
excitement in The Narrows. Smugglers did a 
thriving trade across The Narrows, so the British 
government was obliged to erect a custom house 
and fort upon the isolated Thatch Island. These 
have long since been abandoned. 

After crossing the peninsula of Mary's Point, 
the wayfarer arrives at Maho Bay and afterwards 
at America Hill. The estate house on this latter 
property is a noticeable feature of the landscape, 
for it is built upon the very summit of a hill which 

169 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

has the appearance of a sugar loaf. The hill is 
some six hundred feet high, and the ascent to the 
house must have furnished needed exercise to its 
former owners. 

Cinnamon Bay and Dennis Bay come next. 
Both were in former days the sites of important 
sugar factories. From here the way leads across 
the island. At K. C. Bay are the largest sugar 
factory ruins on the island. Here also is a coconut 
grove in which the damage done by the late hurri- 
cane was tremendous. On the hilltop, before the 
beginning of the descent to Cruz Bay, may be 
seen the almost obliterated remains of another 
Danish fort, whose history no one seems to know. 
To the tourist who is interested in old colonial 
furniture, St. John offers interesting hunting 
grounds. In the most ramshackle negro cabins 
one is liable to run across the dilapidated remains 
of the most wonderfully carved mahogany four 
poster beds. These antiques may be marred by a 
century of neglect, but the wonderfully skillful 
cabinet makers of St. Thomas can easily restore 
them to their former beauty. Not only bedsteads, 
but sewing tables, claw-foot serving tables and 
interestmg looking chairs are scattered over the 
island. These were probably given to the negro 
170 




WHARF AND OLD FORT, CORAL BAY, ST. JOHN 




HERMITAGE ESTATE, ST. JOHN 



CINDERELLA OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

laborers on the estates when the planters departed 
on account of the waning of prosperity. The 
visitor who picks up one or two of these pieces 
will be able in future years to boast of them to 
admiring friends. 

It will be seen, therefore, that St. John, the 
Cinderella of the Virgin Islands, has her charms 
and that the exploitation of the island would well 
repay the original outlay. A suitable tourist 
hotel, built to entertain the traveler who is content 
with what the country offers and does not insist 
upon imported food, would be well patronized. 
Let a few young and energetic men, accustomed 
to the handling of West Indian laborers, start 
produce farms on the rich soil of St. John and they 
would be certain of large returns. Let some 
capitalist stock a farm with a large number of 
cattle of a breed that will thrive in this climate, 
and he would be sure of a profitable investment. 
Let the bay tree industry be encouraged by having 
expert men advise the planters as to the best 
methods of increasing the groves. 

When all this is done, it will be found that 
St. John, now only a name and a small speck on 
the map, will become as important as its more 
prosperous sisters to the west and south. 



CHAPTER IX 
THE CHECKERED HISTORY OF ST. CROIX 

WHY THE TONGUES OF SIR WALTER RALEIGH'S MEN BECAME 
"BIGGE"-A SUBTLE METHOD OF POISONING— A JOINT 
OCCUPATION THAT LED TO MURDER— A STARTLING SUC- 
CESSION OF OWNERS. PLOTS AND COUNTERPLOTS-A 
BLUFF THAT SUCCEEDED-A VISITOR WHO DIED OF MORTI- 
FICATION-A CONFLAGRATION THAT PROMOTED HEALTH 
-AN ABANDONED ISLAND RESCUED BY DENMARK-A 
SYMBOLIC TRANSFER OF TITLES-OUT OF THE CLUTCHES 
OF AN EXPLOITING COMPANY. 

NO record has been discovered of a visit 
to St. Croix between the time of its dis- 
covery in 1493 and the day in 1587 
when Sir Walter Raleigh touched here. There is, 
however, assurance that the Indian inhabitants of 
St. Croix made a few visits to Porto Rico during 
this period and instilled a lively fear in the early 
Spanish settlers of the latter island. It was the 
practice of the St. Croix Indians to go to Porto 
Rico to manufacture their sea-going canoes, as 
the Porto Rico forests bore trees of greater size 
than those of St. Croix. On one of these occasions 
a Porto Rican chieftain demanded that seven of 
the St. Croix cannibals remain on his island in 
order to be kept as hostages in case of attack by 
other Indians from the same island. When the 
172 



CHECKERED HISTORY OF ST. CROIX 

companions of the luckless seven departed, the 
Borinquen chief promptly put his hostages to 
death. Upon their return the St. Croix Indians 
speedily avenged the death of their fellows. To 
quote from an early historian: , 

"They cut the King with his familie in peeces 
and eate them in the revenge of their seven work- 
men; and then they made faggottes of their bones 
to carry to the wives and children of their slayne 
workmen, in witness that the bodies of their 
husbands and parents lay not unrevenged, and 
therewith shewed the faggottes of bones to our 
men [the Spaniards], who being astonished with 
their fiercenesse and crueltie, were enforced to 
dissemble the matter and holde their peace, quar- 
reling no further at any time." 

The narrative of one of the men who accom- 
panied Sir Walter Raleigh on his expedition to 
Virginia, which paused on St. Croix, tells only of 
the discomforts suffered by some of the colonists 
who ate inadvertently of the manchineel apples 
that are found in quantities on the shores of the 
island: 

"Some of the women and men, by eating a 
small fruit like a greene apple were fearfully 

173 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

troubled with a sudden burning in their mouths 
and swelling of their tongues so bigge that some of 
them could not speak." 

It was fortunate for Raleigh's companions that 
some of them did not suffer worse effects from their 
lack of caution in eating these poisonous fruits. 
Tales are told in the West Indies of people who 
have died after eating the manchineel or who have 
lost their eyes because the juice of the fruit touched 
the pupils. Many negroes, especially in the Ba- 
hama Islands, have attempted to do away with 
their enemies by means of this juice. A favorite 
practice of the would-be poisoner is to place a 
little of the sap taken from a broken twig of the 
manchineel tree on the point of a knife and to 
insert this point in a raw potato. The potato is 
then cooked and given to the "vactim. In the 
course of a short time a mysterious slow poisoning 
results which baffles all medical skill, since the 
presence of the acid of the manchineel cannot be 
detected in the stomach when it is given in such 
small doses. Unless the victim keeps a close watch 
upon the preparation of his food, he will ultimately 
succumb to the effects of this subtle method of 
poisoning. 
174 



CHECKERED HISTORY OE ST. CROIX 

From 15S7 until 162-5. St. Croix appears to 
have been unoccupied by either natives or visitors 
from Europe. History' does not tell hovr the fierce 
tribes that Hved here vrere exterminated. In 
16-25 Dutch. Enghsh and French settlers seem to 
have occupied the island jointly. As early as 1645 
the island sustained some six hundred settlers, who 
were governed by general officers appointed by the 
respective countries from which the settlers origi- 
nated. This peaceful H\dng together on one 
island of three different nationahties was not to 
last long, for in 1645 war broke out between the 
Dutch and the English colonists. The Dutch 
governor's residence witnessed the killing in this 
vear of the governor of the British part of the 
island, while he was on a ^isit. It is a matter of 
doubt whether this killing was accidental or by 
design. 

In retahation, the British planters flew to arms, 
gave battle to their neighbors, and wounded the 
Dutch governor so severely that he died a few 
davs later. The Hollanders now elected another 
governor, who, under promise of protection, ^dsited 
the British part of the island in order to attempt 
to arrange matters amicably with the planters of 

175 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

that nationality. The latter, however, still in- 
censed over the loss of their chief, saw fit to vio- 
late their promise of safe conduct and had the 
Dutch governor shot publicly. 

Finding that they were unable to continue 
living on the same island with the British without 
being constantly subjected to hostile raids, the 
Hollanders departed shortly afterward for the 
islands of St. Eustatius and St. Martin, which 
they then colonized. 

The French settlers, numbering perhaps one 
hundred and fifty, most of them deserters from the 
island of St. Christopher, having sympathized 
actively with the Dutch during their quarrel with 
the British, now considered discretion the better 
part of valor and followed the example of the 
Hollanders by leaving St. Croix. Upon asking 
permission from the English government, they 
were allowed to depart. Passage was engaged on 
a British privateering vessel which carried them to 
Guadaloupe. On their arrival, the French not 
only refused to pay the captain of this vessel for 
their passage but complained of the treatment 
they had suffered at British hands. The governor 
immediately seized the ship and declared her a 
176 



CHECKERED HISTORY OF ST. CROIX 

lawful prize, on the pretext that she was an armed 
vessel without the necessary government papers. 

This left the British in undisputed possession 
of St. Croix from 1645 to 1650. In the latter year 
the Spanish governor of Porto Rico, noting the 
prosperity of the settlement and jealous of the 
riches that were found so close to his own colony, 
decided that it was better to claim St. Croix for 
Spain than to have it remain a possession of Great 
Britain. So he sent an expedition of twelve hun- 
dred men to the island. They landed at night and 
fell upon the unprepared inhabitants, slaying a 
large number of them before the alarm could be 
given. 

On the following day two British prisoners were 
sent to their compatriots who had taken refuge 
in the woods and mountains, to inform them that 
they were given three weeks in which to leave the 
island. The refugees promptly dispatched a vessel 
to the governor of St. Christopher with an urgent 
plea that he send a fleet and take them and their 
possessions off the island. Upon the arrival of 
the ships the planters departed, leaving the Span- 
ish in possession. 

Learning of the disaster that had overtaken 
12 177 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

the British colonists, the original Dutch settlers 
thought they could return to their old plantations 
on St. Croix. When they landed, thinking that 
the Spanish forces had long since departed, they 
took no precautions to discover if the island was 
still inhabited. This rashness cost them dear, for 
a Spanish garrison of sixty soldiers had been left 
behind. These soldiers gave battle to the invaders 
and killed most of the party, taking the remainder 
prisoners. 

The French on St. Christopher also had heard 
of the defeat of the British colonists, and thought 
the time ripe to regain their former possessions. 
They accordingly fitted out a large expedition of 
two ships and one hundred and sixty of their brav- 
est men under De Vaugalan. Orders were given 
to kill or take prisoners any Spaniards who might 
be found on St. Croix. The smaller vessel arrived 
before the other ship, and from this about forty 
men landed. These men were ambushed by the 
Spanish garrison and all but three or four were 
killed after a brave and desperate defense. A day 
or two later the second vessel anchored. After 
waiting three days for its convoy. Commander 
De Vaugalan, ignorant of the disaster that had 
178 



CHECKERED HISTORY OF ST. CROIX 

overtaken the men from the first ship, determined 
to lay siege to the Spanish fort. He surrounded 
it and summoned the garrison to surrender. The 
Spanish chief, thinking that he had to do with a 
company of adventurers or pirates who might be 
in need of provisions, sent a cow and a supply of 
wine to the besiegers. This peace offering had no 
other effect than to provoke another demand for 
a surrender of the fort in two hours, with a threat 
that if this command were not obeyed a general 
assault would be made and no quarter given to the 
garrison. Being under the impression that the 
strength of the French was larger than it really 
was, the Spaniards surrendered and embarked for 
Porto Rico on a vessel that had been put at their 
disposal, together with their arms and baggage. 

Upon entering the fort, De Vaugalan found 
here a few prisoners who had survived the ill-fated 
expedition of the Hollanders. These he sent to 
their own island of St. Eustatius. 

A sequel to these various operations on St. 
Croix between 1645 and 1650 was that the expelled 
British planters complained to their home govern- 
ment, and Cromwell, noting the hold which Spain 
was attempting to get on the West Indies, decided 

179 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

to declare war against that country. In 1655 he 
succeeded in depriving her of the important island 

of Jamaica. 

When the French were once more in possession 
of St. Croix, it was determined by the home author- 
ities to lose no time in colonizing the island. 
Three hundred men, under command of Auger, 
who was appointed governor, were dispatched for 
this purpose. This appointment so grieved De 
Vaugalan, who thought he would be rewarded for 
his gallant services, that he died of grief and morti- 
fication shortly afterward. 

The new settlement proved to be so unhealthy 
that three governors died in quick succession, as 
well as two-thirds of the colonists. It was reasoned 
that this high rate of mortality was occasioned by 
the dense forests with which the island was cov- 
ered. Accordingly, fire was set to the woods and 
the colonists took to their ships until the woods 
were burned. The conflagration was a great 
advantage in two ways, for not only did the island 
become healthier but the wood ashes decidedly 
increased the fertility of the soil. 

Shortly afterward measures were taken by 
France which went far toward nullifying the efforts 

180 



CHECKERED HISTORY OF ST. CROIX 

of the planters to make St. Croix a prosperous 
colony. Oppressive taxes were levied and trade 
was restricted to the other French West Indian 
islands. In consequence the revenues from St. 
Croix became negligible. 

In 1651 various French islands, including St. 
Croix, were sold for 120,000 livres to the Knights 
of Malta, a French religious order at whose head 
was Louis XIV. But it was not until 1653 that 
this organization took possession of St. Croix, 
"in order to form an establishment in the West 
Indies for the service and defense of Christianity 
and for the conversion of the savages to the Catho- 
lic religion." On what island these savages were 
to be found, history does not state. It is more 
than probable that' the statement was made 
only to give an air of rehgious endeavor to an en- 
terprise which had for its sole object the aggran- 
dizement of France. The Knights of Malta were 
to hold the island for the crown, and were not 
allowed to appoint anyone but a Frenchman for 
governor. 

In spite of this change of ownership, afiPairs 
remained in a precarious state. So bad did the 
situation become that a relief ship, loaded with 

181 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

merchandise and farming implements, had to be 
sent out in 1657. When this ship arrived the 
colonists, who had become completely disgusted 
with conditions, seized the vessel, forced the sailors 
to do their will, and proceeded to Brazil, where 
they established themselves. 

A new governor, Du Bois, who was appointed 
in 1659, accepted the post on condition that he 
be allowed to remove all restrictions as to the com- 
merce of the island and that he be given a force of 
400 men to defend the island in case of an invasion 
by the Spanish or the Porto Ricans. Du Bois 
arrived in 1659 and found conditions even worse 
than they had been pictured. He fell sick here 
and was obliged to return to St. Christopher, 
where he remained until 1661 to recuperate. Then 
he returned with another company of colonists. 
Prosperity was renewed, thanks to his untiring 
efforts. 

The wise Governor Du Bois continued in power 
even after 1665, when the French West India 
Company purchased the privileges and posses- 
sions of the Knights of Malta for 500,000 livres. 
But even he was not able to prevent the French 
West India Company from enforcing its rule that 
182 



CHECKERED HISTORY OF ST. CROIX 

commerce was to be restricted to French islands 
and to France. Thus it was not long before evil 
days again beset the colony. 

In 1670 only about two hundred settlers, to- 
gether with their slaves, remained on the island. 
By 1674 affairs of the French West India Company 
were in such a bad condition that Louis XIV was 
obliged to take St. Croix over as a part of his 
dominions. For a while longer the settlers con- 
tinued their existence under these unprofitable 
conditions. Many of them gave up their holdings 
and went to other colonies. Finally, in 1695, 
when the population was 147 whites and 623 
slaves, it was decided to abandon the island en- 
tirely and to join the French planters on St. 
Domingue. The French government, feeling that 
St. Domingue would benefit by this influx of agri- 
culturists, gave orders to abandon St. Croix and 
to burn all the houses on the island. The harbor 
works were to be destroyed, and such planters as 
might refuse to leave were to be compelled to do so. 

Yet the French government continued to lay 
claim to the island and resented any efforts on the 
part of other nations to get control of it. In 1725 
a report was current in the West Indies that the 

183 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

British had in mind an occupation of the island, 
and this report induced Governor Moth of St. 
Thomas to urge the Danish West India Company 
to attempt to forestall the British and join St. 
Croix to the existing Danish colony. He had also 
heard that some private individuals in Denmark 
had offered to buy the island from France, and he 
voiced his fears that if St. Croix should become 
the property of individuals, rather than of the 
Danish West India Company, the islands of St. 
Thomas and St. John would promptly be ruined 
through the granting of free trade to St. Croix. 
He also urged that if St. Croix were joined to St. 
Thomas and St. John, both islands would be the 
gainers. 

In 1733 France was urgently in need of money 
to carry on the wars she was waging in Poland 
and she consented to sell St. Croix to the Danish 
West India and Guinea Company. The exact 
sum for which the island was sold is doubtful. 
According to Bryan Edwards, it amounted to 
seventy-five thousand pounds, but Abb^ Raynal, 
a French historian who had every opportunity of 
being better informed than Edwards, named 
758,000 livres as the price agreed on. Half of the 
184 



CHECKERED HISTORY OF ST. CROIX 

price was to be paid on the exchange of the rati- 
fications, and the balance in eighteen months. 
The Danish West India and Guinea Company was 
at the same time reorganized in order to raise 
funds to pay for the island and to make arrange- 
ments for its exploitation. 

It was not until 1734, when the company's ship, 
Unity, arrived, that the governor of St. Thomas was 
informed of the acquisition of St. Croix. Governor 
Moth was named governor of the three islands, 
and he was directed to take over St. Croix. 

Preparations were made at once to go to the 
new possession. A number of the settlers on St. 
John who had sufiFered the almost total loss of their 
property through the slave insurrection of 1733, 
were only too glad to accompany the governor 
and attempt to restore their lost fortunes by a 
venture on the richer island of St. Croix. On 
August 31, 1734, services were held in the churches 
of Charlotte-Amalia for the benefit of those who 
were to leave. On the following day the governor, 
together with the prospective settlers, embarked 
on four vessels for the island to the south. On 
reaching what is now the site of Christiansted 
they found the fort in a comparatively good state 

185 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

of preservation, but the shore was so covered with 
a dense jungle that the party had to remain on 
board their vessels until the slaves had cleared 
land enough for them to live on with any degree 
of comfort. On September 6 the royal standard 
of Denmark was hoisted over the fortifications 
and the new governor's commission was read in 
the hearing of all. 

Not until the beginning of 1735 did the French 
officials arrive from Martinique to turn the island 
over to Denmark. Imposing official ceremonies 
marked this event. Governor Moth held a parade 
of his forces, and fired a salute of nine shots for 
the Danish flag. The remainder of the program 
included the snuffing out of a candle and its re- 
lighting, the pulling of plants and herbs, the 
breaking of branches from the trees, the tasting of 
water from the brook, and the throwing of stones. 
In this symbolic manner the governor indicated 
that he took possession of the island for the king 
of Denmark. 

The first settling of St. Croix was naturally 
attended with a great deal of expense. A costly 
survey had to be made, and transportation for 
new colonists had to be provided. 
186 



CHECKERED HISTORY OF ST. CROIX 

In 1734 a new charter was granted to the Dan- 
ish West India and Guinea Company to take the 
place of the temporary charter made two years 
previously. In this new charter it was stipulated 
that Danish merchants were to buy sugar only 
from the islands belonging to the Danish West 
India Company. Thus a trade monopoly was 
given to the company which prohibited ships of 
other nationalities from calling at the company's 
possessions. There were other concessions which, 
while of benefit to the Danish stockholders, proved 
to be a decided detriment to the planters. 

The Company's first care was to obtain planters 
for the three hundred estates which it wished to 
lay out on St. Croix. English colonists from 
Tortola and Virgin Gorda, who were acquainted 
with the greater agricultural possibilities of St. 
Croix, were easily persuaded to move. Efforts 
were also made to get the better class of settlers 
from the Island of Barbadoes. The Company also 
sent to Germany for a few families ; but these 
proved, in the words of Governor Moth, "anything 
but satisfactory, the men being drunkards and the 
women dirty, lazy and immoral." 

The directors of the Company proposed to send 

187 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

refugee debtors from Denmark to St. Croix, but 
the local authorities of the islands were much 
against this step; they did not think that this class 
of colonists would prove satisfactory. 

The survey of the island was almost finished 
in 1735, but the fort at Christiansted was not 
completed until 1740. The plantations, as sur- 
veyed, were generally 3000 feet by 2000 feet, and 
were sold at from 500 to 600 rix-doUars, for sugar 
plantations, and at from 120 to 240 rix-dollars for 
land suitable for the raising of cotton. The latter 
land, owing to its dryness, was, of course, of less 
value. 

- Soon there was bitter discontent on the part 
of the colonists because of the restrictions and 
monopolies enjoined by the Company. The 
planters resorted to all kinds of subterfuges to 
sell their sugar to ships of other nationalities. 
Smuggling was carried on to such an extent that 
the company was obliged to erect a fort at Fred- 
eriksted to put a stop to the illegal exportation 
of produce. 

The unrest of the planters was increased by the 
severe hurricanes of 1738 and 1742 which caused 
an enormous loss of property. In 1748 — the year 
188 




Photograph by William H . Rau 



A NATIVE FAJVIILY, ST. CROIX 




Photograph by E, M Newman 



DANISH SUGAR MILL, ST. CROIX 




Photograph by E. M. Newman 



A SCHOOL IN ST. CROIX 



CHECKERED HISTORY OF ST. CROIX 

when separate governors were appointed for St. 
Thomas and St. Croix, St. John being included 
with St. Thomas — ^John Schopen was sent by the 
planters to Copenhagen to inform the king of the 
hardships which were laid upon them by the strict 
rule of the Company. 

Finally, in 1754, King Frederick V became 
convinced that the prosperity of St. Croix was 
likely to be entirely ruined by the methods em- 
ployed by the Danish West India Company, and 
he resolved to take over the colony and put an 
end to the existence of the Company by purchasing 
its holdings. These were surrendered for 2,239,446 
rix-doUars. At this time there were 7,566 slaves 
on the island. 

From then until 1917 St. Croix was under 
direct rule of the Danish king, except during the 
two short periods when the British occupied the 
Danish West Indies. It will be seen, therefore, 
that the earlier history of St. Croix was turbulent 
and kaleidoscopic and that its prosperity cannot 
be said to have begun until 1754. Since then the 
wise regulations put in force by the successive 
Danish kings were responsible for making St. Croix 
take rank as one of the richest islands in the Antilles. 



CHAPTER X 
THE STORY OF LABOR ON ST. CROIX 

SLAVE INSURRECTIONS— FREEING THE SLAVES— THE FIGHT 
FOR UNCONDITIONAL FREEDOM— TEACHING THE NEGROES 
TO WORK— QUIETING THE RIOTERS OF 1878— DEALING 
WITH DISGRUNTLED LABORERS— IMPROVING INDUSTRIAL 
CONDITIONS— PROSPERITY AND INCREASED WAGES— GIV- 
ING THE NATIVES THEIR DUE— PHYSICAL FEATURES OF 
THE ISLAND— REMARKABLE FERTILITY OF THE SOIL 

ik LTHOUGH the planters on St. Jolin suf- 
/-jk fered in 1773 from the consequences of 
^ jL.the stern measures in force against the 
offenses of negro slaves, the settlers of St. Croix 
do not seem to have profited by this lesson. 
In 1746 an incipient revolt broke out on the latter 
island, but this was quickly put down, mainly 
through the efforts of a free negro who was instru- 
mental in subduing the rebels. In 1759, however, 
a more serious affair took place when a larger num- 
ber of Africans made plans for wholesale desertion. 
This revolt was also brought to a speedy conclu- 
sion when the conspiracy was discovered, and the 
most agonizing tortures were inflicted upon those 
who had taken part. Some of the negroes, and 
190 



STORY OF LABOR ON ST. CROIX 

these the more fortunate, were hung; others 
suffered torture for from one and a half minutes 
to ninety-one hours. 

It must be remembered, however, that the 
treatment given to the Africans on the Danish 
islands was no worse than that meted out to slaves 
on the islands belonging to other nationalities, and, 
further, that this cruelty reflected the times. 

As early as 1792 the king of Denmark declared 
further slave trade unlawful. For a time the edict 
did not put a stop to the traffic, but it was not 
long until importation of slaves was ended. 

In 1847 laws were passed for the future eman- 
cipation of all slaves in the West Indies. These 
laws were modeled after those passed in 1838 in 
the British colonies. Their substance was that all 
children born of slave parents were to be free, 
and that all who were slaves at the time of the 
publishing of the law were to become free after 
a number of years, when they had passed through 
"an apprenticeship period." In the Danish West 
Indies the fact that this period was to last twelve 
years was the cause of great discontent among the 
slaves, for they naturally wished to gain their 
freedom immediately. 

191 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

To voice their discontent the St. Croix Africans 
planned a revolt throughout the island. On July 
2, 1848, at an understood signal, the laborers on 
the estates rose in arms and most of the terrified 
inhabitants of the towns took refuge on vessels 
in the harbors. A body of some three thousand 
slaves marched to Christiansted and demanded 
their unconditional freedom. Upon being told by 
the commander of the fort that the governor of 
the island was absent, and that he had no authority 
to grant their demands, the rebels sacked and 
destroyed a number of government oflSces, but left 
private residences untouched. The governor finally 
arrived, and, after a short delay, proclaimed to the 
assembled negroes from the battlements of the 
fort that the unconditional freedom they sought 
would be given them. A general dispersal fol- 
lowed and the Africans retired to the estates of 
their former owners. 

At a late hour the following night the rebels, 
drunk with their new-found freedom, made an 
attempt to enter the town. They became dis- 
orderly, and it was found necessary to discharge 
into their midst a cannon loaded with grapeshot. 
The shot caused the death of several of the former 
192 



STORY OF LABOR ON ST. CROIX 

slaves. The negroes were so angry that they 
scattered over the entire island and began a 
systematic destruction of the estate houses and 
factories and a wholesale plunder of their contents. 
No murders were committed, thanks to the fact 
that the planters had sought refuge, with their 
families, in the protected towns of Christiansted 
and Frederiksted; if the whites had been in the 
country-side, it is more than likely that a general 
massacre would have followed. 

The authorities were now forced to send to 
St. Thomas for aid. This was promptly dispatched 
and Frederiksted was soon defended by three 
hundred men, while a thousand soldiers and mihtia 
were stationed at Christiansted. Upon seeing 
that the total destruction of all the estates was 
imminent, the leaders deeided to march on the 
rebels and end the insurrection. Because the 
negroes were scattered over the entire island, it 
was feared that it would be a difficult matter to 
carry out the program. But the junction with 
the Danish forces of a body of five hundred Span- 
ish troops, sent over from Porto Rico, simplified 
the problem. Later a junction was effected be- 
tween the troops from Frederiksted and those 
13 193 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

from Christiansted. The leader of the rebels was 
captured and a number of negroes were shot. 

For a long period the liberty of the Africans 
proved to be an unsettling factor in the economic 
Hfe on the Jsland. It was necessary to pass laws 
to force the former slaves to work, for apparently 
they were under the impression that work was no 
longer necessary and that their former owners 
were now obliged to provide them with all the 
necessities of life. When the governor announced 
the freedom of the slaves one of the stipulations 
of the proclamation was that all old and infirm 
negroes were to be provided for by their late owners. 
This stipulation did not apply to those of the 
younger generation who were able to work, though 
it was not an easy matter to persuade them of 
the fact. In time, however, all these diflficulties 
were overcome. The little plots of ground, 
which had been allotted to the freed negroes on 
the estates of their owners, were taken away 
from them when they refused to till them, so that 
the Africans came to realize that unless they 
worked starvation stared them in the face. 

But the unfortunate island of St. Croix was 
not yet to enjoy a peaceful existence. In 1852 

194 



STORY OF LABOR ON ST. CROIX 

another riot broke out, this time in Christiansted 
itself. The beginning of the trouble was that the 
negroes, for some reason, were forbidden to hold 
their customary dances at Christmas time. When 
this order was disregarded, an over zealous officer 
of militia saw fit to order his men to fire a volley 
into the midst of the rebels, a number of whom 
were killed. The governor did not find it easy to 
convince the laborers that the act was unauthor- 
ized. The officer was severely punished and the 
militia corps was disbanded. 

From 1852 to 1878 there were no differences 
of moment between the planters and their former 
slaves. During this period of quiet a labor act, 
which provided for the proper treatment of the 
workmen, was responsible for increased prosperity 
both for the estate owners and for the laborers. 
But in 1878 a rumor was circulated in the agri- 
cultural districts of St. Croix that the act was to 
be repealed and that other laws to the disadvantage 
of the laborers were to be put into effect. In 
consequence of this rumor, there was another 
revolt The result was the almost total destruc- 
tion of one-third of the town of Frederiksted. 
Stores and houses were looted and then set on fire. 

195 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

After a night of rioting an ineffectual attempt 
was made by the laborers to capture the fort. 
Next the rioters sought the agricultural districts, 
where they began a systematic destruction of the 
estates west of Christiansted. 

Five days later the riot was suppressed by 
troops from St. Thomas. Assistance was offered 
by the commanding officers of war vessels of the 
United States, Great Britain and France, and aid 
was also tendered by the governor of the (then) 
Spanish island of Porto Rico, who said that he 
was ready to send three hundred men with two 
mountain guns; but this help was not needed. 

A few Danish soldiers were caught by the rioters 
and were brutally murdered. Twelve of the 
laborers were subsequently court-martialed, and 
were sentenced to be shot. Many others were jailed. 
Soon quiet was once more restored to the island. 
Since 1878, no further riots of this character 
have taken place on St. Croix, yet conditions have 
always been troublesome and even to-day there is 
great unrest among the laborers of St. Crok. 
Until the last day of its rule over the island the 
Danish government found it necessary to maintain 
a considerable body of men in the forts of Christian- 
196 



STORY OF LABOR ON ST. CROIX 

sted and Frederiksted, and to patrol the island with 
an efficient corps of gendarmerie. Strikes have 
taken place on different occasions, and the St. 
Croix laborer has always been ready with veiled 
threats to burn the properties of the sugar planters. 
What these threats meant can only be realized 
by those who know that the owner of a cane field 
is in a constant state of anxiety because of its 
inflammability. A cigar inadvertently dropped 
along the edge of the field may result in the de- 
struction of thousands of dollars* worth of sugar 
cane before the fire can be checked, especially on 
a windy day. 

During recent years the editor of one of the 
local papers formed a labor union on St. Croix. 
This editor is seeking to better the conditions of 
the negro and hopes soon to start an industrial 
school on the island modeled after Booker T. 
Washington's Tuskegee Normal and Industrial 
Institution. There is a great opportunity for such 
work as is planned by him, for it must be admitted 
that, in spite of the contentions of the planters 
to the contrary, the lot of the laborer on St. Croix 
is not an enviable one and there are many condi- 
tions which need a remedy. 

197 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

Until January, 1916, the prevailing wage was 
twenty cents per day, but the last strike resulted 
in the increase to thirty-five cents per day for nine 
hours' work. The percentage of increase may 
seem large, but it should be remembered that 
many benefits which before the estates were 
obliged to furnish, such as a plot of ground, the 
privilege of keeping a horse or a cow, and medical 
attention, are now withheld. 

When sugar was low in price, as it was during 
the years immediately preceding 1914, the St. 
Croix planters found it impossible to pay adequate 
wages to their men. These men would work but 
five days a week, and, in the height of the sugar 
crop, when everything depended upon constant 
work, they had to be coaxed to work even this 
length of time. Since the increased price of sugar 
has enabled the planters to continue the manufac- 
ture of this product with a better prospect of 
making a profit on their investment, the laborers 
will probably be paid more for their work — ^that 
is, if they give better services for the money they 
are supposed to earn. 

It has become habitual with many of the 
planters to give their laborers a sinister reputation, 
198 



STORY OF LABOR ON ST. CROIX 

but it should be stated that the latter are some- 
times blamed for vices which were brought here 
when the planters, desperate for laborers to save 
their sugar crops, imported a lawless element of 
negroes from some of the British islands to the 
south. The result was the acquisition of all the 
riff-raff who were too worthless to make a living 
on their native shores. Naturally they have 
helped to give the St. Croix native-born laborer 
a bad name. Yet it must be admitted that the 
native of St. Croix, unhke the St. Thomian and 
the laborer on St. John, is not a good worker and 
that he is apt to desire pay for work which he has 
but half performed. 



CHAPTER XI 

THE CHARACTER AND THE POSSIBILITIES 

OF ST. CROIX 

THE HURRICANE OF 1772— ALEXANDER HAMH^TON'S FAMOUS 
DESCRIPTION— SUGAR CULTIVATION AND SEA-ISLAND COT- 
TON POSSIBILITIES— SUGGESTIONS FOR INCREASED PRO- 
DUCTION—CATTLE RAISING AND FINE HORSES. 

ST. CROIX lies in latitude 17 degrees, 45 
minutes N., and longitude 64 degrees, 45 
minutes W. The island is about forty 
miles due south from St. John. The meridian of 
64 degrees, 45 minutes W., cuts both St. John and 
St. Croix almost exactly through the center. 
Small sailing vessels trading between the three 
islands are always apprehensive of the passage 
between the two northern islands and St. Croix, 
as unaccountably high seas will occasionally rise 
without warning and these prove a decided menace 
to craft of small tonnage. Only one island hes off 
St. Croix, Buck Island, a rocky cay with an eleva- 
tion of about four hundred feet. 

The island is twenty-two miles long and about 
six miles wide in the center. It supports a popu- 
200 



CHARACTER OF ST. CROIX 

lation of about fifteen thousand inhabitants, of 
whom fully ninety-five per cent, are colored. Its 
area is 84.25 square miles, so that it is more than 
four times the size of St. John and about three 
times the size of St. Thomas. 

Only the northern part of St. Croix is moun- 
tainous. Mt. Eagle, near the northwestern point 
of the island, having a height of 1164 feet, is the 
highest elevation. The greater part of the island 
south of the mountain range is rolling and the 
extreme southern part is quite flat. On the flat 
portion there are a number of lagoons. Several 
rivulets find their way from the mountain slopes 
to the south and west, while but one water-course 
empties itself into the sea on the north coast. In 
the rainy season these rivulets become angry tor- 
rents which seem only too anxious to break their 
bounds and damage the crops upon their banks. 
In the dry season they are hardly more than a bed 
of pebbles, with here and there a small pool to 
indicate that the bed is occasionally covered with 
water. But, even with these streams, the island 
cannot be said to be well watered and a large part 
of the south coast presents at all times a barren 
appearance, cacti forming the prevailing vegeta- 

201 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

tion. The rainfall averages 31.26 inclies per year, 
and the rainy months are May, September, and 

October. 

According to Dr. Taylor's work, "Leaflets 
from the Danish West Indies," the geological 
formation of St. Croix is almost the same as that 
of St. Thomas, although less of the blue-bit stone 
and more of a fine grayish stratified slate is found 
here. The western part of St. Groix is formed of 
tertiary limestone. The southern part of the 
island consists principally of large limestone plains. 
In spite of the somewhat scanty rainfall the 
soil of St. Groix, throughout the island, is remark- 
able for its fertility, with the exception of the 
area bordering the south coast. The mountain 
tops, which in pre-Golumbian days were covered 
with large forests, were burned bare during the 
French occupation of the island and are now 
mostly covered with grasses of different varieties 
which serve as fodder for the herds that graze 

there. 

There are no harbors on St. Groix, and the 

island suffers greatly because of this lack. The 

contour of St. Groix includes practically no bays, 

and there are dangerous reefs along the north and 

202 



CHARACTER OF ST. CROIX 

south coasts. There is no east coast, owing to 
the fact that the south and north coasts meet in 
a point, and the west coast is exposed to northerly, 
southerly and westerly storms. Thus no safe 
anchorage for vessels can be found. 

The climate is good, but is warmer than that 
of St. John and St. Thomas. The statement has 
been made that this is due to the fact that St. 
Croix lies further within the tropics; but it is 
to be doubted if forty miles could account for the 
variation. It is more likely that the profile of 
the island and the fact that it is not directly 
exposed to the north Atlantic, as are the islands 
of St. John and St. Thomas, has a great deal to 
do with this increase in temperature. In former 
days, because of its climate, St. Croix was a Mecca 
for American tourists, and it should be a favorite 
with them to-day. Undoubtedly the climate is 
even better and more equable than that of the 
famed Bermudas or Bahamas. 

There are few mosquitoes on the island. The 
ubiquitous sand-fly occasionally proves to be a 
pest, but the attacks of this insect do not occur 
often. There is but one variety of snake, and 
this is of a non-poisonous variety. The sanitation 

203 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

of the two towns is good, and of later years there 
have been no epidemics. 

Like the other Virgin Islands, St. Croix has 
been frequently a sufferer from hurricanes. Even 
the earlier records speak of these disasters. In 
1772 no less than four hundred and sixty houses 
in Christiansted and all the houses in Frederiksted, 
with the exception of three, were destroyed. The 
sea rose seventy feet above its usual level, and all 
shipping was driven ashore. 

This was the hurricane which was so well de- 
scribed by Alexander Hamilton in a letter to his 
father. The future aide-de-camp of Washington 
and Secretary of the Treasury in Washington's 
administration, was at the time a clerk in the 
counting house of a merchant named Nicholas 
Cruger in Christiansted, and, though he was but 
fifteen years old, he was a marvel of ingenuity 
and ability. The letter attracted so much atten- 
tion from admiring friends and relatives that it 
was decided to give him the chance he longed for 
to go to the United States to secure a college 
education. The letter is worth quoting here, for 
it gives a more vivid word picture of a West Indian 
hurricane than does the average narrative: 
204 



CHARACTER OF ST. CROIX 

St. Croix, Sept. 6, 1772. 
Honored Sir, 

I take up my pen, just to give you an imperfect 
account of one of the most dreadful hurricanes that 
memory or any records whatever can trace, which 
happened here on the 31st ultimo at night. 

It began about dusk, at north, and raged very 
violently till ten o'clock. Then ensued a sudden and 
unexpected interval which lasted about an hour. 
Meanwhile the wind was shifting round to the south 
west point, from whence it returned with redoubled 
fury and continued till nearly three in the morning. 
Good God! what horror and destruction— it's impossible 
for me to describe — or you to form any idea of it. It 
seemed as if a total dissolution of nature was taking 
place. The roaring of the sea and wind— fiery meteors 
flying about in the air— the prodigious glare of almost 
perpetual lightning— the crash of falling houses— and 
the ear-piercing shrieks of the distressed were sufficient 
to strike astonishment into Angels. A great part of 
the buildings throughout the island are leveled to the 
ground— almost all the rest very much shattered— 
several persons killed and numbers utterly ruined- 
whole families wandering about the streets, unknowing 
where to find a place of shelter— the sick exposed to 
the keenness of water and aii-— without a bed to lie 
upon— or a dry covering to their bodies— and our 

205 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

harbors entirely bare. In a word, misery, in its most 
hideous shapes, spread over the whole face of the coun- 
try. A strong smell of gunpowder added somewhat to 
the terrors of the night; and it was observed that the 
rain was exceedingly salt. Indeed the water is so 
brackish and full of sulphur that there is hardly any 
drinking it. 

In 1867 an earthquake devastated St. Croix 
and caused enormous damage on St. Thomas. The 
town of Frederiksted on St. Croix was the prin- 
cipal sufferer and the U. S. S. Monongahela, a 
wooden, cruiser with auxiliary steam power, was 
taken up bodily by a wave which lifted it over the 
tops of some coconut trees and deposited it a con- 
siderable distance inland. Later it was necessary 
to dig a canal in order to float the ship to the ocean. 

The last hurricane, that of October 9 and 10, 
1916, did not do one-tenth as much damage on 
St. Croix as it did on St. Thomas, though it 
destroyed a number of the smaller houses and 
unroofed some of the larger ones. No shipping 
was lost with the exception of the schooner Vigilant^ 
which was sunk in Christiansted harbor, and a 
few small sloops. 

St. Croix is essentially an agricultural island. 
206 



CHARACTER OF ST. CROIX 

Of the total acreage of 51,913, about thirteen 
thousand acres are devoted to the cultivation of 
sugar and about two thousand to the raising of 
sea-island cotton. Grass, fodder and other kinds 
of miscellaneous products are produced on about 
thirty thousand acres. Without irrigation or 
fertilization the island can raise eight to ten tons 
of sugar per acre, thus equaling what is produced 
in Hawaii with irrigation or in Louisiana with 
fertilization. 

Should the estate owners become convinced of 
the wisdom of using imported fertilizers on their 
land and the government arrange for a system of 
irrigation which could be installed at small cost 
by damming existing watercourses and digging 
small canals, there is every reason to believe that 
St. Croix would soon equal the record of the island 
of Porto Rico by producing twenty-five to thirty 
tons of sugar per acre. Incidentally, the irrigation 
system, if installed, would convert into land capa- 
ble of raising large crops of this product great 
areas which are now unsuitable for cane culture. 
Another improved method to which little attention 
has been paid, and which would prove of incal- 
culable benefit to the soil, would be a system of 

207 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

crop rotation. This would restore the fertility of 
land worn out by too long use in raising but one 

kind of produce. 

There are three large sugar mills in operation. 
These are the St. Croix Sugar Factory near Chris- 
tiansted, the West End Mill, half way between 
Christiansted and Frederiksted, and the La Grange 
Mill, two miles from Frederiksted. These three 
mills produce seven-eighths of all the sugar made 
on the island, eight smaller estates manufacturing 
the remainder. It has been estimated that, with 
proper machinery and increased cultivation, St. 
Croix would be capable of producing 100,000 tons 
of sugar per year. Yet in 1916 the sugar crop 
amounted only to about 16,000 short tons. In 
1903, a record year, the total crop came to but 
19,275 short tons. 

Formerly St. Croix was famed throughout the 
West Indies for the rum produced in the distil- 
leries which were run in connection with the sugar 
estates, and "Santa Cruz" rum commanded a 
higher price than any other on the market. But 
of late it has been found unprofitable to continue 
distilling, and attention is paid solely to the manu- 
facture of sugar. 
208 



CHARACTER OF ST. CROIX 

Before the United States took over the islands, 
the exporters were obliged to pay to the Danish 
government five per cent, export duty on their 
sugar. In addition to this they had to pay a 
considerable import duty when sugar was sent to 
ports of the United States. Now that the islands 
have come under the American flag, a flat rate of 
eight dollars per ton export duty is to be imposed 
on all sugar sent from the island. Of course when 
the sugar is shipped to New York or any other 
United States port, no import duty has to be paid. 
Thus the planters who export their sugar to the 
United States pay much less duty than they did 
before. 

In addition to enormous possibilities of St. 
Croix for the increased cultivation of sugar-cane, 
the island also is capable of greatly increased 
cotton production. To-day the 2,000 acres devoted 
to this valuable plant produce the finest cotton in 
the market, the long staple sea-island cotton, 
whose present value is from forty to fifty cents 
per pound. Cotton cultivation has been tempor- 
arily abandoned owing to the difficulty of shipping 
the product and the appearance of insect pests, 
but it is thought that if the fields are permitted to 
14 209 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

rest idle for a few years this last diiOaculty will be 
conquered. 

Attempts have recently been made to grow 
sisal (hennequin) on the drier parts of St. Croix. 
Very likely this venture will prove successful, as 
it has been found in other parts of the West Indies, 
such as the Caicos Islands and the Bahamas, that 
this fibrous plant appears to thrive best in the 
less fertile districts and in sections where rainfall 
is scant. Efforts to raise bananas and other fruits 
are also being accompanied by a fair measure of 
success. 

Many cattle are raised on the island. Most of 
these are used for drawing the wagons which 
transport the sugar-cane from the fields to the 
mill. Thirty thousand acres are devoted to the 
raising of fodder and for the pasturage of herds. 

The island is also especially noted for the good 
quality of the horses raised and a number of these 
are exported to neighboring islands. Thanks to 
the importation of stallions from the United States, 
the breed is constantly improving. The influx of 
a large number of automobiles has not succeeded 
in making the St. Croix planter lose his pride in 
his saddle or driving horses. 



CHAPTER XII 
ON "THE GARDEN OF THE ANTILLES'' 

FREDERIKSTED AND CHRISTIANSTED-THE BUSTLE OF 
STEAMER DAY— ISLAND COMMUNICATION, STEAMERS AND 
SAILING VESSELS— THE ROMANTIC STORY OF THE VIGILANT 
—ALEXANDER HAMILTON. THE CHRISTIANSTED CLERK- 
ROADS AND MOTOR CARS-THE RUINS ON THE SUGAR 
PLANTATIONS-WHY DEER ARE PLENTY— COLUMBUS- 
TREE-GROWING OYSTERS-WHAT THE EXCAVATOR LEARNS 
FROM KITCHEN-MIDDENS 

THERE are two ports of entry on St. Croix, 
Frederiksted and Christians ted. Of these 
two towns the former represents the com- 
mercial interests of the island and the latter the 
governmental interests. Naturally, then, there is 
more bustle around Frederiksted than one ever 
sees around Christiansted, especially on "steamer 
day," when the Quebec Line steamer calls on its 
way to islands farther south or on its return 
voyage to New York. 

Frederiksted, or West End as it is more popu- 
larly called, has a population of about three thou- 
sand. It cannot, therefore, be said to be a large 
town. Yet, as it is the depot of eighty per cent, of 
all the island's imports and exports, it does a 
considerable amount of business and the large 

211 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

warehouses attest to the prosperity of the mer- 
chants. All cargoes and passengers have to be 
landed here in lighters and in rowboats, for there 
is no harbor, and the steamer must remain about 
a half mile off shore. 

The roadstead is exposed to storms from three 
directions, the west coast giving protection from 
easterly winds only. In consequence, steamer 
captains who anchor here are always prepared to 
depart at a moment's notice. They are especially 
cautious in the hurricane months. 

There are few old buildings in the town itself, 
the majority of the larger houses having been 
destroyed in the laborers' riot of 1878. There is, 
however, a fort in which, until March 31, 1917, 
a company of Danish gendarmes was quartered. 

It is only on steamer days that one reahzes 
the importance of this Uttle town. The one pier 
of which the water front boasts is then covered 
with a swarming mass of laborers, boatmen and 
lookers-on, anxious for a glimpse at the arriving 
tourists with the latest styles from the North. 
The pier on the water-front suddenly seems to 
become one enormous warehouse with bales, bags, 
barrels, crates and trunks scattered everywhere. 
212 



E*. 




"THE GARDEN OF THE ANTILLES" 

But whereas, in St. Thomas, a visitor is greeted 
by a grinning ^boatman and a porter who makes 
up in willingness what he lacks in efficiency, the 
atmosphere in St. Croix, generally speaking, is 
charged with surliness. No pleasant greetings are 
given; indeed, the negroes one meets seem to scowl 
at the stranger and resent his presence. However, 
their looks do them an injustice, for it will be 
generally found that the native-born inhabitant 
of St. Croix is at heart good natured, and the 
discourtesy one meets with is due more to the 
resentment of the people because of their condition 
than to any evil intentions toward the visitor. 

At the present time but this one steamship 
line, the Quebec Steamship Company, calls at 
Frederiksted. Vessels of this company also call 
at Christiansted in the sugar season, but only 
when the weather is very favorable, so great are 
the dangers incident to touching at the latter port. 
There is daily communication between Frederik- 
sted and Christiansted by an automobile service 
which transports the mail and carries passengers 
for six dollars the round trip. Various small 
sloops lighter the goods landed at Frederiksted to 
Christiansted and call at different places along the 

213 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

coast. These sloops also make occasional visits 
to St. Thomas. The mail between St. Croix and 
St. Thomas is always brought to Christiansted by 
a small sloop which has a contract for this service, 
except when it is carried on the steamers of the 
Quebec Line. 

An electric Hght plant is being installed in 
Frederiksted and the little town will soon be illumi- 
nated by this means and the kerosene lanterns 
which are now used will be abolished. There is 
an ice-plant, but, as it has not been found profit- 
able to run this, all ice is brought from the Chris- 
tiansted factory by the automobile which carries 

the mail. 

Christiansted, or Bassin as it is more generally 
known, is the oldest settlement on the island, and 
has a population of about forty-five hundred. The 
town is built around a curving water-front with an 
amphitheatre of hills in the background. It has a 
picturesque appearance, and this is heightened by 
the old forts and churches which still remain. 

Successive hurricanes, wars, rebellions and 

riots of the negroes are responsible for the fact 

that only a few of the old residences are standing 

to-day. During the latter days of the Danish rule, 

214 



"THE GARDEN OF THE ANTILLES" 

the governor spent six months of each year on St. 
Croix and a handsome gubernatorial residence is 
found here, which is said to be larger than any 
similar house in the Lesser Antilles. 

There are two forts in Christiansted, the Sophia 
Frederika Fort, which is built upon a small island, 
Protestant Cay, in the harbor, and the Luisa 
Augusta Fort, located on the mainland. It was 
to this latter stronghold that an intending traveler 
who desired a passport was obliged to go when 
Denmark ruled the island. For his passport he 
had to pay thirty-two cents if he wished to make 
a voyage to St. Thomas, while one dollar was 
required if he planned to go beyond the jurisdic- 
tion of the Danish government. Although the 
amount demanded was so small, the tax on pass- 
ports brought a considerable sum of money to 
the treasury, and incidentally prevented emigra- 
tion of absconders or negroes who were in debt to 
the estate owners. 

Steamers seldom call here. When captains do 
decide to risk the dangers of the roadstead, it is 
always in fear and trepidation. A circle of reefs 
makes the entrance difficult. Even when a fair- 
sized steamer has safely navigated the tortuous 

215 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

channel of the reef, it is necessary to anchor by 
bow and stern, since there is not enough room 
between the rocks and the reefs to allow a vessel 
to swing with the tide or wind. Experts say that 
it would be quite possible to blast away some of 
the obstructions which make this anchorage unsafe 
and to widen and straighten the entrance through 
the outer reef. If this should be done, Christian- 
sted would undoubtedly become commercially the 
more important port and the trade conditions of 
St. Croix would be bettered to an astonishing extent. 
There is regular communication by sailing ves- 
sels between Christiansted and Charlotte-Amalia. 
Perhaps one of the most interesting of these vessels 
is the old schooner VigilanU which makes Chris- 
tiansted her home port. This ship, which is always 
pointed out to visitors, has had a turbulent his- 
tory. When built in Baltimore, in 1800, she was 
named the "None-such," and sailed under the 
American flag. She was first employed for the 
carrying of slaves. Local history still tells of the 
days when the ship carried human cargoes and of 
the miseries suffered by the unhappy Africans 
when some two hundred of them were confined 
at one time in the small holds. When slave trad- 
216 



"THE GARDEN OF THE ANTILLES" 

ing became illegal, the schooner was sold to a St. 
Croix merohant. For some time it was a privateers- 
man, with letters of marque from the Danish 
government. 

In 1825 the vessel was used as a man-of-war. 
A Spanish privateer had caused considerable loss 
to shipping by cruising in the waters around the 
Virgin Island group and capturing many merchant 
vessels. The Danish government was unable to 
stop this practice with the man-of-war that was 
stationed here; the deeper draught of this vessel 
made it impossible to pursue the small privateer 
into the shallow channels in which it took refuge. 
The Vigilanty as the historic None-such had by 
this time been named, was chartered by the Dan- 
ish government and a crew of thirty soldiers was 
hidden on board. She cruised about in the waters 
surrounding the islands until the privateersman 
perceived her. Thinking he had found an easy 
prize, the captain of the enemy vessel made ready 
to capture the schooner. But as soon as he 
grappled with her the thirty soldiers who had been 
hidden in the Vigilant'' s hold suddenly appeared 
and turned the tables, killing the Spanish captain, 
his officers, and a number of the crew. 

217 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

Next the Vigilant was used as a mail schooner 
between the islands. She changed owners many 
times. Originally she was a topsail-schooner, but 
was changed to a fore-and-aft schooner. In the 
hurricane of 1876 she struck the reef of Chris- 
tiansted harbor and sank, but was raised again 
and was later used as a government packet. Fi- 
nally, in the destructive hurricane of October 9, 
1916, the Vigilant was again sunk inside the 
Christiansted reef. She was once more raised. 
To-day she serves in the humble capacity of a 
cargo carrier in the inter-island trade. 

A visitor to the island after hearing this long 
story, naturally wonders how the vessel could 
have existed for more than a hundred and seven- 
teen years in West Indian waters, where the teredo 
worm works quick destruction to all woods exposed 
to the sea. The owner of the Vigilant, if closely 
questioned, will admit that parts of the vessel 
have occasionally been renewed. If he is hard 
pressed he will frankly confess that the only 
original part of the vessel remaining is a small 
eight-foot piece of oak keel! 

Christiansted prides itself upon having been the 
home of Alexander Hamilton and the house where 
218 




LUTHERAN CHURCH AND ADJOINING HOUSES, CHRISTIANSTED, ST. CROIX 




SCHOONER "vigilant AT WHARr, ( lUilSTIANSTED, ST. CROIX 



"THE GARDEN OF THE ANTILLES" 

he resided is still pointed out to visitors. When 
but twelve years of age he began to work as book- 
keeper and general assistant to Nicholas Cruger, 
who soon found that he had in him a helper on 
whom he could depend. Yet the clerk was not 
satisfied, as appears from a letter which he sent 
to a friend who went to America to study. In this 
letter he said: 

I contemn the grovelling condition of a clerk, or 
the like, to which my fortunes condemn me, and would 
willingly risk my life, though not my character, to 
exalt my station. I am confident, Ned, that my youth 
excludes me from any hope of immediate preferment, 
nor do I desire it; but I mean to prepare the way for 
futurity. ... I shall conclude by saying I wish there 
was a war. 

Less than a year after this letter was written 
Mr. Cruger went to New York, leaving his business 
in the hands of the young clerk. He had been 
absent only a few weeks when the boy wrote to 
the captain of the sloop Thunderbolt a letter which 
showed that Mr. Cruger's confidence in his clerk 
was well merited: 

Herewith I give you all your despatches, and desire 
you will proceed immediately to Curacoa. . . . You 

219 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

know it is intended you shall go from thence to the 
main for a load of mules, and I beg if you do, you'U 
be very choice in the quality of your mules, and bring 
as many as your vessel can conveniently contain — by 
all means take in a large supply of provender. Re- 
member, you are to make three trips this season, and 
unless you are very diligent you will be too late, as 
our crops will be early in. ... I place an entire reli- 
ance upon the prudence of your conduct. 

The persistent seeker after old furniture on 
St. Croix is sure to be rewarded with valuable finds. 
Here, as on St. John, the cabinet maker of former 
days seems to have taken a delight in his craft 
and turned out pieces which could vie with those 
from any part of the world. The objects are 
generally made of Santo Domingan mahogany and 
are exquisitely carved. 

Many a piece of rare crystal also may be dis- 
covered in the dilapidated negro cabins. A 
specialty of the island is the old liquor case, a 
polished mahogany box with compartments for a 
number of square cut glass bottles which speak 
eloquently of the rare old wines imbibed by the 
forefathers of the present planters » 

It would be diflficult to say whether St. Croix 
220 



"THE GARDEN OF THE ANTILLES" 

would appear more attractive to a visitor than 
St. Thomas or St. John. While St. Croix lacks the 
magnificent grandeur of the seascapes and the 
wild beauty of the mountains possessed by St. 
Thomas and St. John, it presents a far more 
orderly appearance, with its straight roads and 
its vast areas of cultivated land. The island is 
laid out with parallel roads, intersected by other 
roads running at right angles, and the more level 
portions present the appearance of a checker 
board. Excellent macadamized roads provide 
good facilities for motoring and are fringed with 
coconut trees. In all, there are about one hun- 
dred miles of good roads on the island. There are 
also a few short lines of narrow gauge railroads, 
which are used to collect sugar cane and to carry 
this to the mill. Of late years this transportation 
is being done on one estate by motor truck, and 
it is likely that this sort of vehicle, so much more 
efficient than the ox-carts now in use, will speedily 
come into popular favor. Motor cars can be 
hired at the rate of twenty cents per mile, and 
there are a large number of these conveyances. 
But a visitor who would see the island well 

should hire a good horse and trap, for these will 

221 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

give him a better opportunity of taking in the 
varied scenes. 

Noticeable in the landscape are the solid stone 
watch-houses with roofs made of the same material, 
resembling sarcophagi. In these the guardians of 
the fields were stationed day and night to prevent 
the setting of fires to the cane fields, and to give 
warning to the estate owners when fire broke out. 
At the sound of the alarm all laborers on the estate 
would come together to extinguish the fire before 
the entire crop should be destroyed. Only the 
proprietor of a sugar-estate can tell most effectively 
of the dangers of fire in a field of sugar-cane. Where 
a visitor to a plantation sees only a peacefully waving 
field of green and brown stalks, the owner will 
have mental visions of an all-devouring fire, going 
through his agricultural wealth with the speed of 
an express-train, jumping from one field to another, 
transforming live plants into charred stumps with 
but a mocking semblance to their former luscious 
stalks. 

Sugar-cane, when ripe, is one of the most 

inflammable things in the world. Under the stalks 

there is always an accumulation of trash and dried 

wisps of the blades of the cane, which act like 

222 



« 



THE GARDEN OF THE ANTILLES" 



tinder when a spark falls on it. For this reason, 
throughout the West Indies, all locomotives, when 
passing through areas where cane is cultivated, 
are provided with spark-arresters upon their 
funnels. If a fire, once started, is not checked 
immediately, there is little hope of saving the 
field in which it originated, and there is every 
possibility that it will spread throughout every 
cultivated area of the estate and even through 
those of neighboring properties. Sometimes a 
disgruntled laborer is responsible for such a fire, 
and woe betide him if he is caught in the act of 
setting fire to a field. Dire indeed are the penalties 
for this crime. 

Strange to say, the laborers of St. Croix are 
well pleased when a sugar-cane fire takes place. 
The reason for this is two-fold. In the first place, 
cane that has been damaged by fire still retains a 
certain amount of juice, and if it is cut and taken 
to the mills for grinding within three days, a 
reasonable amount of juice can still be extracted. 
After three days, the juice begins to ferment in 
the stalk and is valueless. The laborers, knowing 
that the cane must be cut immediately, generally 
take the opportunity of demanding extra pay, and 

223 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

the owners of the field are obliged to grant the 
increase or else lose the entire crop. The second 
reason for the laborers' satisfaction in case of fire 
is that a burned stalk of sugar-cane is far easier to 
cut than a green, live stalk. 

The watch-houses provided for the use of 
those who guarded against fire in the cane fields 
were supplied with loop-holes for muskets, so many 
of them proved a good defense against revolting 
Africans in the days of rebellions and riots. Brick 
chimneys of former sugar estates and the remains 
of old wind-mills also remind the visitor of the 
fact that sugar at one time was king of the island. 

Very few "great houses'* remain on St. Croix, 
although ruins of these are plentiful. Biilowminde 
and Havensicht still exist to tell of the pomp and 
circumstance in which the former planters lived. 
These houses are beautifully located about six 
hundred feet above sea level. Other large plan- 
tations are Concordia and the Princess Estate. 
An excursion to any one of these will well repay 
the tourist who seeks for information as to the 
manners and customs on the island in the eigh- 
teenth century. 

There is good hunting on St. Croix for fallow- 
224 



(( 



THE GARDEN OF THE ANTILLES" 



deer, which are found here in large numbers. In 
fact, there are so many of these animals that they 
do a great deal of damage to the produce patches 
of the humbler class of agriculturists. For this 
reason deer are not protected, but may be hunted 
at all seasons. Venison is sold almost every day 
in the local markets. The animals have multiplied 
rapidly since they were first introduced. They are 
found in larger numbers on the north coast than 
elsewhere. The unprepared visitor who happens 
to be walking through a field is sometimes startled 
by the sudden appearance of a deer which, upon 
seeing the intruder, will beat a hurried retreat. 
There is also good pigeon and duck hunting, while 
splendid fishing and bathing may be enjoyed by 
the lovers of these sports. 

On the north coast of St. Croix extensive Indian 
remains are found on village sites which were at 
one time occupied by the savage aborigines. There 
are so many mounds near the mouth of the Salt 
River that it seems certain the pre-Columbian 
inhabitants had here a village of considerable size. 
These mounds are located at the very edge of the 
sea, due south from the reef which is some half 
mile distant from the shore line. They consist for 
15 225 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

the most part of the large conch and oyster shells 
which are so typical of these islands. ^ 

When Columbus reported to his Spanish 
masters upon the wonders of the West Indies, he 
laid special stress upon the fact that he had seen 
oysters growing on trees. The explanation of 
this seemingly incredible phenomenon is simple, 
as any visitor to the West Indies knows. The 
shores of brackish lagoons in these latitudes are 
always fringed with mangrove trees, whose over- 
hanging branches take root in the water until the 
bush finally resembles the leaf-covered ribs of an 
umbrella. Upon these branches the young oysters 
(Ostrea Virginica) find a hold. At length the parts 
of the tree that are submerged at high tide are 
completely covered with the moUusks. The 
Indians who inhabited the Salt River district 
seem to have been especially fond of this sort of 
food. 

The work of excavating in the St. Croix deposits 
was far easier than in the similar deposits on 
Magens Bay on St. Thomas. Practically no roots 
of destructive trees were found, as the vegetation 
around the mouth of the Salt River was scant, 
owing to the intense heat and the saline moisture 
226 




REEF AT MOUTH OF SALT RIVER, ST. CROIX 




ROOTS OF MANGROVE TREES, WITH OYSTERS, SALT KIVER, ST. CHOIX 



^ "^■■? 









i^i^- 







'!S^^nt->A 




J^J- Lj'- 



ABORIGIXAL POTTERY VESSEL AS FOUND IN 
THE EARTH, SALT RIVER, ST. CROIX 




TYPICAL OLD WATCH HOUSE ON SUGAR ESTATE, ST. CROIX 



"THE GARDEN OF THE ANTILLES" 

of the atmosphere. In fact one wonders why 

this region should have been chosen for a residence 

by the aborigines, since it is one of the portions of 

the island where the most intense heat is found. 

The expedition sent out by the Museum of the 

American Indian, Heye Foundation, of New York 

City, was especially fortunate in excavating in 

these deposits a number of entire vessels which 

were found buried in the debris of the mounds. 

It was necessary to use the utmost care in removing 

a vessel from the trench, so that the uncovering 

of one of these was generally undertaken only by 

the leader of the expedition. It was impossible 

to tell beforehand if the roots of the smaller bushes 

here had developed cracks in the vessels during the 

centuries that the fragile specimens had awaited 

the coming of the archeologist. Frequently a bowl 

would fall into numerous pieces on being lifted 

from its matrix. But the accident was by no 

means irretrievable; the pieces would be packed 

together carefully and upon their arrival at the 

Museum in New York they would be cleaned and 

put together in such a manner that the breaks 

became practically invisible. 

Not only are pieces of entire vessels saved, 

227 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

but the hundreds of postsherds found in the 
deposits are "matched" as far as this is possible 
and are afterwards mended. At times surprising 
results are obtained. Occasionally the excavator 
will find a fragment in one place and a piece of 
the same bowl some fifteen feet away. The expla- 
nation is that when an Indian woman broke one 
of her cooking pots she would throw the pieces in 
the refuse heap back of her hut. Naturally, the 
pieces would fall in different places. After years 
of practice, the archeologist develops a good 
memory for the fragments he excavates. He men- 
tally classifies these by their color and the thick- 
ness of the ware, and often he is able to reconstruct 
a bowl out of perhaps twenty different sherds. 
This "matching" should be done first in the field, 
and once again after the museum is reached. The 
Virgin Island sherds were washed as they came 
out of the kitchen-middens and then were placed 
in the sun to dry. Not only are postsherds found 
in the deposits, but broken stone implements, 
stone beads, shell and bone pendants, bone awls, 
et cetera, are among the hundreds of objects that 
enable the archeologist to gather his data on the 
aboriginal inhabitants. 

228 

7 



a 



THE GARDEN OF THE ANTILLES 



»> 



Perhaps the most important item of all is the 
examination and identification of the shells and 
animal bones that are found. All animal bones 
are preserved and are sent on to various zoological 
experts for identification. The shells also are saved 
and ultimately are identified by conchologists. 

After all this has been done, it is possible to 
tell quite accurately just what constituted the 
diet of those who lived in the ancient villages. 
It was found in St. Croix that the principal shell 
food of the Indians consisted of the oyster (Ostrea 
Virginica) and the conch (Strombus gigas). In all, 
more than twenty-five varieties of shells were 
found. Of mammals, there were the bones of a 
small, extinct animal, the isolohodon portoricensis 
and a species of trichechus (sea cow) were found. 
Of birds, the Indians appear to have consumed the 
puffin, the booby, the yellow-crowned night heron, 
the gallinule, the crow, and a species of extinct 
and hitherto unknown rail. The bones of the 
green turtle were also found, as were the remains 
of eight different varieties of fish. A number of 
claws of the common, light-colored land crab 
proved that the aborigines did not despise these 
animals in their dietary. 

229 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

But not only are the shells and bones found 
in the kitchen-middens important as evidences of 
the food of the Indians; frequently they are of the 
highest zoological interest, if they belonged to 
animals now extinct. 

There can be no doubt that St. Croix supported 
a large aboriginal population. There are village 
sites like that of Salt River in many other parts 
of the island. Then the stone axes and other pre- 
Columbian implements which had been picked up 
by tillers of the fields, and are to be seen in almost 
every laborer's cabin on the island, add to the 
evidence that the population in pre-historic days 
must have been far more dense than it is now. 

To the tourist, as well as to the archeologist, 
St. Croix offers pleasant possibilities in the way of 
excursions. The island has been aptly named 
"the Garden of the Antilles," because of its lux- 
uriant vegetation. The wilder element of the 
scenery of the other Virgin Islands is noticeably 
lacking, but St. Croix, with its myriad shades of 
verdure, is a constant delight to the eyes of those 
unaccustomed to tropical vegetation. 



CHAPTER XIII 
A VISIT TO THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS 

BUCCANEERS AND REBELS— A RULER WHO IS JACK-OF-ALL- 
TRADES— TORTOLA AND THE SURROUNDING CAYS— WHY 
THE SAILORS OF JOST VAN DYKE DROWN— VICTIMS OF THE 
PROPRIETORS— THE ATTRACTIONS OF TORTOLA— THE DI- 
VERTING STORY OF AUDAIN— VIRGIN GORDA AND ITS 
PENINSLT^AS— ANEGADA, "THE DROWNED ISLAND"— MEN 
WHO LIVE ON SHIPWRECKS 

THE early history of the British Virgin 
Islands is shrouded in darkness. There 
is brief mention of the fact that these 
islands were first settled in 1648 by Dutch buc- 
caneers who made them a base from which they 
carried on their piratical raids upon merchant 
shipping. It seems certain that Great Britain laid 
claim to the islands as early as 1666 and has owned 
them without interruption ever since. But how 
the sea-rovers came to lose these possessions to 
the British and what class of Englishmen first 
came to the islands, is not definitely known. 

From 1666 until 1793 the islands appear to have 
existed without any definite administrative organi- 
zation. Not until 1773 was a court of justice 

created with a civil governor. 

231 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

In 1831 a plot was formed by the negroes to 
murder the male whites, plunder the islands and 
seize such ships as might be found in the harbors. 
Their intention was to carry off the wives of their 
former masters to Hayti, where they wished to 
join the citizens of this negro republic. As in 1733 
the government of the British Virgin Islands had 
helped the St. Thomas authorities to suppress the 
rebellion on St. John, the Danes now reciprocated 
by dispatching a man-of-war to Tortola in order 
to intimidate the rebels. The presence of this 
ship was sufficient to subdue the negroes. 

In 1867 a legislative council was given to the 
colony. Finally an ordinance, dated May 1, 1902, 
placed the islands under the authority of the gov- 
ernor of the Leeward Islands, they forming a 
separate presidency. The commissioner in charge 
is usually a physician, as the presidency is too poor 
to support a resident physician as well as a coni- 
missioner. Besides being administrator and physi- 
cian, he holds the offices of chief judge, recorder of 

deeds, et cetera. 

The line between the British and the American 
islands runs from the north between Little Tobago 
and Hans Lolhk; from thence to the channel 
232 



VISIT TO BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS 

between Thatch Island, Tortola and St. John, 
around the eastern end of the latter, and thence 
through Flanagan Passage. 

The total area of the British islands is about 
fifty-eight square miles, and they consist of over 
forty cays and islands. They support a population 
of a Uttle over five thousand inhabitants, though 
the number is constantly decreasing. But few ships 
call here and the only communication with the 
outside world is by sailboat and by motorboat 
from St. Thomas. Those who man these boats 
are the finest seamen in the West Indies. Their 
familiarity with the currents in the channels be- 
tween islands, with the reefs and other hidden 
dangers, and with the baffling winds caused by the 
surrounding mountain tops, makes them the best 
of boat-handlers. 

The cHmate of Tortola and of the other British 
Virgin Islands is especially good. At times 
the days are quite cool, for the temperature 
frequently ranges as low as sixty-five degrees 
Fahrenheit. 

That the trade of the islands is of little conse- 
quence may be judged from the fact that in 1914 
the only export worth mentioning was 35,201 

233 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

pounds of cotton. The imports in 1915 amounted 
to $41,132, and the exports to $32,805. 

The origin of the name of the island of Tortola, 
meaning "turtle-dove," is unknown. It seems 
more than likely that the early Spanish discoverers 
gave it that name, but it is difficult to understand 
how it survived from 1493, when the island was 
first seen, until 1666. 

Tortola lies in latitude 18 degrees, 25 minutes 
N., and longitude 64 degrees, 40 minutes W. It 
is extremely mountainous, the highest elevation. 
Sage Mountain, dominating all the surrounding 
land with an altitude of 1780 feet. It is shaped 
irregularly, and is ten miles long by three and one- 
half miles wide. Of its 13,300 acres, one-fifth were 
under cultivation in 1815, but it is doubtful if 
to-day more than one-twentieth of the land is 
tilled. 

The island is surrounded by a number of cays 
of which the largest are Jost Van Dyke, Norman 
Island, Peter Island, Beef Island, Guano Island, 
Great Camanoe Island and Scrub Island. Jost 
Van Dyke, which was named for one of the leaders 
of the Dutch buccaneers who first settled here, is 
the most prominent of these cays, having a peak 
234 



VISIT TO BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS 

with an elevation of 1070 feet. It is inhabited by 
some three hundred and fifty settlers, who are 
even better boatmen and fishermen than the other 
inhabitants of the British Virgin Islands. It is 
said locally that they are so confident of their 
ability as sailors that they have never taken the 
trouble to learn to swim. So, whenever there is 
a mishap to any boat from these islands, the 
members of the crew who are natives of Jost Van 
Dyke are the ones drowned. 

Tortola has the same geological formation as 
St. John. It is very fertile in parts, but is not 
well watered, there being but one rivulet. Limes, 
oranges, and other fruits are grown. The vendors 
of these products go to the markets of Charlotte- 
Amalia. 

There the local merchants, knowing that they 
are obliged to sell their fruits before these be- 
come spoiled and that Charlotte-Amalia is the 
only place where a sale can be made, offer them 
very low prices in comparison with the prices 
given for the same products raised on St. John and 
St. Thomas. The unfortunate Tortola islanders 
are bound either to accept these prices or to 

throw their produce away. 

235 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

Other products which find a ready sale on St. 
Thomas are charcoal, which is burned by the men, 
and is carried to market in small sailing boats, 
and drawn work, in the making of which the women 
are quite expert. 

Another industry is being developed by the 
planting of coconut groves, and it is possible that 
these groves may prove to be a saving factor in 
the economic life of the island. In 1904 experi- 
ments were conducted for the growing of sea- 
island cotton, but for some reason these experi- 
ments were not very successful and the expecta- 
tions of an island-wide cultivation of the cotton 
plants did not materialize. 

There are a number of bays, of which Road 
Harbor is the most important. While this bay is 
exposed to the southeast, it is protected from all 
other sides by an amphitheatre of lofty hills. Here 
as many as three or four hundred sailing vessels 
used to assemble to await the coming of a convoy 
of men-of-war to protect them on their homeward- 
bound voyage, and in those days, Tortola was a 
place of considerable trafl&c. A number of old 
forts still bear evidence of those days of prosperity, 
when it was found necessary to protect the ship- 
236 



VISIT TO BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS 

ping that took shelter here from the raids of buc- 
caneers and privateersmen. 

Some four thousand people live on the island. 
Most of these are scattered through the moun- 
tains, only about four hundred being found in the 
settlement of Roadtown. This village, which 
stands on the southwest shore of the bay, is sur- 
mounted by the ruins of Fort Charlotte, situated 
on a spur of the main mountain range, 940 feet 
high. But for the commissioner's residence and 
the custom house, the place would be nothing more 
than a collection of fishermen's huts with here 
and there the ruins of large houses to tell of the 
former importance of the town. 

At one time Roadtown was the scene of many 
condemnation proceedings of captured privateers 
and freebooting craft. Such vessels were fre- 
quently brought to Tortola by British cruisers. 
These sales contributed in no inconsiderable degree 
to the resources and prosperity of the town. An 
attempt to add to this prosperity was made when 
the British proclaimed Tortola a free port, in the 
effort to keep pace with the development of 
Charlotte-Amalia on St. Thomas. 

The only regular communication between Road- 

237 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

town and the Virgin Islands of the United States 
is by a small sloop which goes to Charlotte- Amalia 
once a week to get the mail. A voyage on this 
sloop can be recommended heartily for those who 
are not afraid of roughing it and who care to enjoy 
a pleasant trip through the channels among the 
islands. 

Directly across Road Harbor Bay, on the east- 
ern side, lies the small and scattered settlement 
named Kingston. 

A short distance from Roadtown are the Bo- 
tanic Gardens, as well as the Experiment Station 
where attempts are being made to exploit the 
agricultural possibilities of the British Virgin 
Islands. At the west end of the bay are seen the 
interesting ruins of Fort Burt. A number of other 
ruined fortifications may be seen along the coast. 

Ruined sugar estates are everywhere, for on 
this island, as on the Virgin Islands to the west- 
ward, sugar cane was at one time extensively cul- 
tivated. 

Good ponies are for sale or for hire on Tortola 

and pleasant rides and excursions can be made 

all over the island. The roads over the mountain 

paths are of wonderful scenic interest and often 

238 



VISIT TO BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS 

lead by precipitous ravines. No visitor should 
fail to take the road which leads by "Anderson's 
Leap," named in honor of one Anderson who 
managed to land at the bottom of a ravine without 
breaking his neck. 

The hunting on Tortola is very good, and a 
yachting trip around its shores would be a source 
of great delight. A voyage to Norman Island 
will remind one of the days when buccaneers had 
their hold on the Spanish Main. On this cay are 
a few interesting caverns, called the *' Pirates' 
Caves," in one of which a chest of treasure was 
once found. 

No visitor to Tortola can escape without hear- 
ing the story of a man named Audain who at one 
time lived here. Audain began life as a midship- 
man in the British navy, but, finding this profes- 
sion unprofitable, he became a clergyman on the 
Virgin Islands. Later he broadened his activities 
by obtaining a license as an auctioneer and also 
by building a schooner with which he engaged in 
the profitable business of privateering. 

If half of the stories told of Audain are true, 
he must have combined courage with cupidity 
and hypocrisy with heresy. It is said that at one 

239 



w: 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

time he was conducting services in church when 
he noted from his pulpit that a British man-of-war 
was pursuing a privateersman. Hurriedly dis- 
missing his congregation, he boarded his own vessel 
in order to give chase. The wind being light, he 
made use of the large oars with which his schooner 
was provided and succeeded in capturing the 
privateer before the man-of-war could approach. 

He was a great duellist. It is said that at one 
time, after he had fired twice without success, and 
while he was waiting for the pistols to be re-loaded, 
he walked up to his antagonist, saying, "Some- 
thing between, something between, good sir;'* 
then promptly knocked him down with his fist. 
He finally wound up his varied life as a trader in 
Hayti. 

The island of Virgin Gorda, or the "Fat 
Virgin," as it was called by the early Spanish dis- 
coverers, has never been able to lay claim to the 
slightest importance. It lies in latitude 18 degrees, 
30 minutes N., and longitude 64 degrees, 25 min- 
utes W. The main part of the island is a rectangle, 
two and one-half miles long by one and three- 
fourths miles wide. One peninsula runs out from 
the northeast coast in a direction almost due west. 
240 



VISIT TO BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS 

This peninsula is a half mile wide and four miles 
long. Another peninsula runs due south from the 
southwest coast and is three and one-half miles 
long and a half mile wide. The main body of the 
island has one high mountain, the Virgin Peak, 
with an elevation of 1370 feet. 

The eastern peninsula ends in Pajaros Point, 
a remarkable pinnacle rock. The eastern coast of 
the southern peninsula has been broken up by 
some violent action of nature into immense granite 
blocks which are scattered along the shores. 
Between some of these bowlders there are large 
pools which have the appearance of baths and are 
erroneously attributed to Indian handiwork. They 
are, however, nothing but natural formations. A 
continuance of this peninsula is a small island, 
Fallen Jerusalem, which, because of the presence 
of these same granite blocks, presents the curious 
appearance of a ruined city, this illusion being 
especially noticeable from a distance. Many of 
these blocks are from sixty to seventy feet square. 
They appear to have been hewn out by giants and 
rest the one upon the other in the haphazard order 
so often found in such freaks of nature. 

The island is very close to Tortola, Drake 
16 241 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

Channel being but four and one-half miles wide 
between Virgin Gorda and Reef Island, the latter 
lying off Tortola. It is badly watered, there being 
but two small wells on the entire island and 
absolutely no rivulets. An abandoned copper 
mine is pointed out to visitors, and there are said 
to be gold and silver on the island. 

The total number of inhabitants of Virgin 
Gorda is but 417. The majority of these people 
live in the small settlement called Spanishtown. 
They make a precarious living by raising vege- 
tables and stock and the producing of charcoal 
for the St. Thomas market. Owing to its unpro- 
ductiveness. Virgin Gorda was never densely 
populated, though it was at one time fortified 
because of its strategic position, controlling as it 
does the channels leading to the other Virgin 

Islands. 

The island of Anegada, the loneliest outpost 
of the Caribbean Sea, Hes 14 miles due north 
of Virgin Gorda. It is situated in latitudelS degrees, 
45 minutes N., and longitude 64 degrees, 20 minutes 
W., and has a length of nine miles and a breadth 
of from one to two miles. The total area is thirteen 
square miles. In most places it has an elevation 
242 




TURN-OUT \V1TH NATIVE DRIVER 




X 



NORTH COAST OF ST. THOMAS 
With Thatch Island and British Islands of Tobago and Little Tobago in Distance 



VISIT TO BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS 

of but thirty feet, and its highest point is only- 
sixty feet above sea level. 

The Anegada coast has always been known as a 
most dangerous spot for ships. In the days when 
St. Thomas was one of the busiest ports of the 
West Indies, Anegada had more wrecks in two 
years than those two dreaded localities on the 
American coast. Cape Race and Sable Island, can 
now claim in thirty-six months. Tides and currents 
are nowhere in the West Indies as swift as they 
are here and in few spots in the Seven Seas are 
there so many reefs and hidden dangers. Occasion- 
ally mariners can hardly see the island owing to the 
mist caused by spray which forms when the great 
waves dash against the cliffs. This mist hangs 
over the island and often hides it completely. It 
is from this fact that Anegada derived its Spanish 
name, "Drowned Island." 

Anegada is of tertiary limestone formation, 
over a core of volcanic origin. It is covered mostly 
with brushwood. The numerous large salt water 
lagoons are visited at certain seasons by thousands 
of flamingoes, which come here during the rainy 
season when their accustomed haunts on the Ori- 
noco River in South America are inundated 

243 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

and they must go elsewhere in search of food. 

There are no rivulets on Anegada. Water is 
obtained from two curious water holes named 
"The Wells" on the northeast coast of the island, 
but the inhabitants prefer to drink the rain water 
which they catch in their cisterns. They make 
use of the fresh water from The Wells for the cul- 
tivation of crops. These curious water holes have 
a mouth from ten to twenty-five feet in diameter 
and a funnel-shaped formation. They are very 
deep, and the surface rises and falls with the tide. 
The water in them is not only fresh, but it is also 
colder than the sea water. 

Anegada was the first settled of all the Virgin 
Islands and was a favorite resort of buccaneers 
and filibusterers. These undesirable subjects were 
driven off by two successive naval expeditions sent 
out by Henry Morgan when this former buccaneer 
became governor of Jamaica and waged relentless 
war upon his erstwhile companions. The buc- 
caneers were then replaced by settlers who lived 
on the booty saved from the ships wrecked here. 
In fact, they made so much in this way that they 
gave but scant time to agriculture or to stock- 
raising. In earlier days these wreckers did not 
244 



VISIT TO BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS 

hesitate to murder the crews of the unfortunate 
ships that struck on the island and they made no 
effort to rescue the drowning. 

These conditions have now changed, for severe 
penalties are meted out by the Tortola govern- 
ment. The Anegadians still have a tendency to 
lay pilfering fingers on any unfortunate ship that 
goes aground here, but there is no actual violence. 

The island has poor agricultural possibilities. 
The four hundred and fifty-nine inhabitants are 
all of them black or colored. They raise a certain 
amount of stock and vegetables, but spend their 
time mostly in an anxious lookout for shipwrecks. 
Most of their houses and huts are built from the 
timbers and other remains of vessels that found a 
last resting place on the island. Numbers of the 
wrecks are still to be seen on the surrounding reefs. 

There are said to be copper and silver ore 
deposits on the island, but none of these are worked. 
A quantity of buried pirate treasure is also sup- 
posed to exist here. 

Many snakes and a poisonous variety of wasp 
disturb the otherwise peaceful existence of the 
inhabitants. 

It is an interesting archeological fact that even 

245 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

Anegada supported a large aboriginal population 
Numerous deposits of large extent, consisting 
mostly of conch shells, are found upon the east 
end of the island and around the shores of the 
lagoons. These deposits go to prove that the 
Indians, even if they did not come here for any 
permanent settlement, at least visited the place 
to obtain a supply of shell food. 



CHAPTER XIV 
HINTS FOR THE TOURIST 

THE CLOTHING A MAN SHOULD CARRY WITH HIM— WHAT 
THE WOMAN VISITOR NEEDS— WHY SILKS ARE USELESS- 
ROUTES AND RATES OF FARE— HOTELS AND BOARDING 
HOUSES— OTHER ADVANTAGES— THE LAND WHERE SOUVE- 
NIRS ARE UNKNOWN 

THE tourist who intends to pay a visit to 
the Virgin Islands naturally desires to 
learn a number of facts pertaining to 
them before beginning his voyage. 

Perhaps the first matter on which information 
is desired is suitable clothing. The male tourist 
need have little difficulty here. If he will provide 
himself with the same underwear he is accustomed 
to wear in summer in the United States and a 
number of Palm Beach suits, he will find himself 
comfortable under all circumstances. Pith helmets 
are not needed, as the heat of the sun is not great 
enough to warrant the use of these clumsy contriv- 
ances. An ordinary wide-brimmed panama or 
straw hat will fill every need. Stiff collars are, in 
the daytime, out of place; the use of soft collars or 
of shirts with rolling collars is recommended. In 

247 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

the evening warmer clothes should be worn. 
Either light flannels or light serge will offset the 
chill which sometimes is felt at night. 

The tourist should, by all means, take his 
evening clothes with him, as he will have many 
opportunities to use his dinner jacket or his 
formal dress suit. As to footwear, it will not be 
found necessary to carry along anything more than 
the usual supply. White canvas shoes with rubber 
heels will be found more satisfactory than buck- 
skin shoes, for they are cooler and they are less 
apt to be spoiled by the well-meaning but often 
unskilful shoe-cleaners at the hotels and on ship- 
board. Leather soles will be found more durable 
and less heating than rubber soles. 

Another need is a light cravenette raincoat, 
for this will be useful on rainy days. A rubber 
coat is not recommended, since this is liable to 
crack after a short sojourn in the tropics; all pre- 
pared rubber goods have a short life south of the 
twenty-third degree of latitude. 

The tourist who visits the islands with the idea 

of going in for hunting, boating or riding should 

by all means bring light khaki clothes, which will 

be found serviceable and will give good wear. For 

248 




BLLKliKARD S CASTLE AT T(JP OF LUCHETTI S HILL, CHARLOTTE-AMALIA, 

ST. THOMAS 




V 



aj^»rit^.u..^^-^^ 



THE BARRACKS, CHARLOTTE-AMALIA 







t'liuLugraph by \\ illiaiii H. Ran 

IN THE MARKET PLACE, CHARLOTTE- AM ALIA 



HINTS FOR THE TOURIST 

these sports, heavy boots are also recommended, 
as the thorns and sharp stones will quickly destroy 
the lighter kind. Bathing suits should not be 
forgotten if the visitor is a lover of this sport, for 
which he can find every opportunity. 

It is more difficult to advise women tourists 
as to the clothes they ought to carry with them, 
but one word of advice may not be taken amiss. 
Do not bring gowns made of silk. Dresses of this 
material will look all right for a time, but after a 
few weeks they will suddenly split everywhere 
they have been folded. This is another of the 
mysteries of a tropical climate which many a visitor 
has found out to her cost. Plenty of washable 
gowns and dresses, of linen and other like material, 
will be found best for daytime wear. Laundresses 
on the island are experienced, careful and inexpen- 
sive. For the evenings gowns made of crepe de 
chine, organdie, et cetera, will be best. 

The next important question is how to reach 

the islands. The Quebec Steamship Company has 

a fleet of three steamers under the British flag 

which call, approximately, bi-monthly at St. 

Thomas and St. Croix on their way from New 

York to ports of the Leeward Islands. The fare 

249 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

from New York to St. Thomas is $70 each way, 
and the passage takes from five and one-half to 
six days. The largest ship of these three vessels, 
the Guiana, is quite comfortable. The food sup- 
plied is good, while there are ample cabin accom- 
modations and plenty of deck room. The other 
two vessels of this line are not recommended, 
except to travelers who have no objection to rough- 
ing it. This is the only steamship company which 
sails from New York direct to the islands. 

Another way to reach St. Thomas is by taking 
one of the two steamship lines which sail from New 
York to Porto Rico. Of these two lines, the New 
York and Porto Rico Steamship Company has 
larger steamers than the Red D Line. Both are 
under the American flag, and the vessels of both 
are very comfortable and their owners take the 
utmost pains to satisfy their patrons. The New 
York and Porto Rico Steamship Company has 
three vessels on the New York to San Juan route 
which leave New York on Saturdays and reach 
San Juan Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morn- 
ing. The fare depends upon the accommodations 
one selects, varying from $45 to $65. In San Juan 

one can connect with the inter-island steamer of 
250 



HINTS FOR THE TOURIST 

the Bull-Insular Line whiclil makes a fortnightly 
trip to St. Thomas, leaving \San Juan Thursday- 
night and reaching Charloti^e-Amalia the next 
Friday morning at daybreak.: The fare on this 
little steamer for the night trip 'is $15. While the 
accommodations are somewhat (ipramped, they are 
clean and the trip is of but eight hours duration. 
The Carmen, a small motor vessel which has a 
contract for the carrying of the mails, also con- 
nects Porto Rico with St. ThomasJt It leaves 
Fajardo every Friday morning for " Charlotte- 
Amalia. A line of motor buses connects S n Juan 
and Fajardo, so that one is not obliged to spend 
the night in this village. The entire trip does not 
take over eight hours in all, being two hours from 
San Juan to Fajardo and six hours at sea from 
Fajardo to Charlotte- Amalia. This cannot be 
recommended, however, as accommodations for 
passengers are limited to benches in the cabin. 
The fare on this vessel is $10; but $5 extra must 
be paid for the motor trip from San Juan to 
Fajardo, 

Two of the steamers of the Red D Line are on 
the New York-San Juan route. They leave New 
York every other Wednesday and reach San Juan 

251 



THE VIRj&IN ISLANDS 

Monday afternoon. li?rom San Juan to St. Thomas 
the same connections as those noted above have 
to be made. The olJher two ships of this company- 
leave New York oq the intervening Wednesdays 
and go direct to Mayaguez, on the west coast of 
Porto Rico. From there one can take the railroad 
to San Juan to make connections for St. Thomas 
and the other Virgin Islands. The fare on the 
Red D Linei is from $45 to ^55, according to 
accommodations. 

There is a noticeable lack of suitable com- 
munica ion between the different Virgin Islands. 
One is occasionally fortunate enough to secure 
passage on one of the Quebec Line steamers from 
St. Thomas to St. Croix. Failing this, it is neces- 
sary to depend entirely upon sailboats and motor- 
boats for travel between St. Thomas, St. John, 
and St. Croix. It is to be hoped that a small 
steamer or motorboat will soon be placed m service 
between the islands, with a government subsidy 
for the carrying of mail. Such a vessel should be 
a profitable venture. 

As recuperating resorts for invalids the Virgin 
Islands unquestionably offer incomparable oppor- 
tunities. The climate in many ways is far superior 
252 




1 



I 



HINTS FOR THE TOURIST 

to that of the Bermudas and the Bahamas, and the 
quiet life of the islands should be a favorable ele- 
ment in the treatment of patients who go there. 
The man who builds a large sanatorium on St. 
John should have a remunerative investment, if 
the place is well advertised and well managed. 

The tourist will find two hotels in Charlotte- 
Amalia and a number of boarding houses. The 
Grand Hotel, with about twenty-five rooms, sit- 
uated directly opposite Emancipation Park, is 
considered the better, although the Hotel Italia, 
with abc^ut twenty rooms, is also well spoken of. 
Both hotels charge ahke, according to accommoda- 
tions, and are on the American plan. The meals 
at the Grand Hotel are served on a large covered 
balcony which overlooks the little park and the 
wonderful harbor, and the mild climate and the 
absence of mosquitoes make dining here a constant 

pleasure. 

The cooking in Charlotte-Amalia is renowned, 
and the tourist is advised to come here prepared 
to like the creole dishes. It may be said in general 
of West Indian cooking that the native dishes are 
far more wholesome and delightful than the con- 
coctions that are sometimes provided by tourist 

253 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

resorts with the claim that they are American 
dishes. There are, of course, imported meats, 
canned salmon and many other canned edibles. 
But if the visitor is content with fish that was alive 
in the sea not more than one hour before it comes 
on the table, with fresh native lobster more delicate 
in flavor than the far-famed coast-of -Maine variety, 
with vegetables which, even if unfamiliar to his 
eyes and taste, are as toothsome as the kinds he 
s accustomed to eat up North, he cannot fail to 
be pleased. 

St. John has practically no accommodations 
for visitors. For some time a boarding house was 
kept in an historic old estate house at Leinster Bay, 
but this was destroyed by the hurricane of 1916, 
and it is doubtful if it will be rebuilt. Limited 
accommodations for visitors are to be had in a 
small bungalow belonging to one of the inhabitants 
of Cruz Bay. While these are quite suitable for 
the temporary stay of two or three guests, they 
are not sufficient for a party of any size. 

Both in Frederiksted and Christiansted there 

are good boarding houses for visitors, with ample 

accommodations and good cooking. Numerous 

owners of the smaller estates are also willing to 

254 



HINTS FOR THE TOURIST 

take in boarders who care for the country Hfe of 

the island. 

There are excellent shops in St. Thomas, whose 
prices correspond favorably with those of the 
United States. There is also a good drug store. 
In fact, a visitor will be able to secure practically 
all he needs. This is true also of St. Croix; but on 
St. John nothing is obtainable. On both St. 
Thomas and St. Croix there are experienced physi- 
cians, and trained nurses are available. 

Practically no tourist souvenirs are obtainable 
on the islands with the exception of the native 
baskets that are now produced on St. John. This 
lack is perhaps one of the chief charms of a stay 
there. Elsewhere in the West Indies vendors of 
rubbish and trash make life a misery to the tourist 
by their clamorous solicitations. 



CHAPTER XV 

DETAILED AGRICULTURAL, COMMERCIAL, SHIP- 
PING AND BANKING INFORMATION 

THE facts presented in this chapter are 
quoted from government documents, in- 
cluding United States Commerce Re- 
ports, the United States Naval Medical Bulletin, 
and the Special Agents' Report made to the De- 
partment of Commerce on December 14, 1916, by 
H. G. Brock, Philip S. Smith, and W. A. Tucker. 

FOREIGN TRADE 

Imposts 

The total value of the St. Thomas imports 
during the fiscal year ended March 31, 1916, with 
the exception of machinery and material worth 
$19,165 that was brought in for use at the harbor 
works at Longbay, was $734,680, which was shared 
as follows by the chief countries of origin : United 
States, $332,286; West Indies, $91,748; Great 
Britain, $88,411; Denmark, $50,778; France, 
$13,286; the Netherlands, $12,601; and Germany, 
$1,195. Imports at St. Thomas constitute about 
70 per cent, of the imports for all three islands. 
256 



DETAILED INFORMATION 

Figures for the shipments to St. Croix, either direct 
or via St. Thomas, are not shown separately. 

The value of the principal articles imported 
into St. Thomas during the fiscal year ended 
March 31, 1914 (the year preceding the war), and 
1916 (a whole year under war conditions), is 
shown in the following table: 

Articles 1914 1916 Articles 1914 1916 

Ammumtion . . . $6,718 $2,102 Breadstuffs : 

United States 6,562 1,919 Com 4,098 3 715 

Apparel 9,470 5,575 u n i t e d ' 

UmtedKing- States... 4,094 3,415 

United States 3,966 2,764 United 

Beverages: States... 7,43710,028 

Coffee 3,818 2,863 Flour- 

West Indies (a) 2,468 TV i, ^ « + 

States^... 112 353 te^'S^ 

Tea 883 2,280 aU from the 

United United 

Kingdom 1,340 „ States) .... 46,336 62,301 

Germany . . 861 Rye. ...... . 2,224 3,377 

Boats, etc 2,935 1,338 United 

United States 2,000 599 ^ States. .. 2,086 3,377 

Boots and shoes 14,632 14,504 Rice 6,247 5,420 

United States 13,751 11,662 Germany. . 4,064 

United King- Nether- 

dom 283 1,034 lands. . . . 1,303 

Breadstuffs: United 

Cereals, n.e.s. 1,314 1,634 Kingdom 815 4,770 

United United 

States... 5 43 1,106 States 342 

(a) Not separately sUted. All Other 4,848 4,023 

17 257 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 



Articles 1914 


1916 


Articles 1914 


1916 


Breadstuff s, all other: 




Fancy goods . . . 11,237 


7,750 


United 




United States 6,296 


6,625 


States 2,876 


2,439 


United King- 




United King- 




dom 3,138 


1,096 


dom 1,262 


1,450 


Fish, dried. 




Cement 3,671 


6,339 


salted, etc. 8,080 


5,840 


Denmark.... 2,269 


5,626 


United States 5,349 


4,475 


United States 238 


31 


Denmark.... 2,395 


1,143 


Chinaware, 




Fruits and vege- 




crockery. 




tables, fresh: 




etc 3,075 


1,671 


Beans and 




Germany .... 920 




peas. . . . 6,651 


7,308 


United King- 




United 




dom 865 


951 


States... 6,483 


7,230 


United States 675 


578 


Other.. 32,433 12,364 


Coal 262,805 83,214 


United 




United 




States... 28,921 


5,064 


States.... 262,805 82,013 


West Indies 2,279 


7,300 


Confectionery, 




Fruits and nuts. 




chocolate, 




dried 2,317 


1,506 


cocoa, etc. . 4,792 


5,548 


France 2,080 


36 


Denmark. . . . 2,033 


123 


United States 


1,256 


United States 1,217 


1,612 


Glassware. . .. .12,799 


6,800 


United King- 




Germany .... 10,831 




dom 1,204 


1,115 


United States 1,102 


3,817 


Dairy products: 




Denmark 66 


2,200 


Butter 17,982 12,979 


Gold, silver and 




Denmark. . 14,871 10,408 


plated ware 1,443 


526 


United 




United States 310 


289 


States... 1,937 


2,560 


Hats and caps. 




Cheese^ 7,308 


5,072 


n.e.s 1,420 


605 


United 




United King- 




States... 4,041 


4,437 


dom 1,263 


420 


Germany.. 2,049 


129 


United States 17 


185 


Drugs and 




Lard, animal 




chemicals.. 6,735 


4,282 


and vege- 




United States 3,907 


2,534 


table 1,925 10,124 


United King- 




United States 1,705 10,122 


dom 1,302 


875 


Live stock 




Germany 1,204 


• • • • ■ 


(West Indies) 14,409 12,397 


258 









DETAILED INFORMATION 



Articles 1914 1916 

Margarine 9,083 5,781 

United States 7,212 5,043 
Meats, smoked, 

salted, etc. 1,667 7,807 
Denmark.... 1,351 130 

United States 7,652 

Metals and man- 
ufactures of: 
Machinery.. 1,765 789 
United 

States.. 1,103 274 
Denmark . 187 474 
Wire, pipes, 
plates, 

etc 18,984 10,364 

United 

Engdom 7,918 2,899 
United 

States.. 7,791 6,741 
All other.... 21,957 8,250 
United 

States.. 14,817 3,787 
United 

Kingdom 4,749 2,681 
Germany.. 1,405 185 
Oils, mineral 
and vege- 
table 21,136 149,850 

United States 10,253 7,286 
Paints, colors, 

etc 17,223 7,291 

United States 10,955 1,453 
United King- 
dom 6,052, 5,430 

Paper and paper 

goods 8,996 7,627 

United King- 
dom 2,939 1,187 

United States 2,497 3,688 
France...... 1,446 816 



Articles 1914 1916 

Perfumes, toilet 

soaps, etc.. 7,410 3,207 

France 3,025 2,096 

United King- 
dom 1,413 491 

United States 1,665 505 

Preserves 12,646 7,524 

United King- 
dom 3,806 1,340 

United States 3,271 4,262 
Soap, common. 1,341 7,471 
United States 1,123 739 
United King- 
dom 6,465 

Spirits, wines 
and liquors: 
Beer, porter 
and malt 

extract. . 15,104 10,145 
Denmark. . 10,743 9,353 
United 
K i n g - 

dom 2,783 683 

United 

States. . . 223 107 

Brandy 1,552 1,150 

United 
King- 
dom 527 807 

France .... 420 343 

Germany. . 602 

Gin 12,602 10,099 

Nether- 
lands.... 12,109 9,662 

Liqueurs 1,341 427 

France.... 781 268 
Rum (West 

Indies).... 6,835 5,848 

259 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 



Articles 


1914 


1916 


Spirits, wines 






and liquors ; 


1 




Whisky (prac- 






tically all 






from United 


[ 




Kingdom) . 


7,101 


3,632 


Wine 11,807 


4,797 


France .... 


4,342 


2,526 


United 






States. . . 


63 


401 


Other spirits . 23,704 20,171 


Westlndies 17,067 19,150 


Germany . . 


4,403 




Starch 


3,050 


2,029 


United States 2,988 


2,015 


Straw and straw 






goods (hats, 


> 




baskets. 






etc.) ! 


28,986 


7.772 


United King- 






dom 


5,173 


3,542 


United States 


297 


744 


Sugar ' 


38,232 
6,133 


4,130 


United States 


4,023 


Textiles : 






Cotton ' 


70,006 39,398 


United 






Ki ng- 






dom. ... 


49,838 24,902 


United 






States. . . 


13,798 11,517 


Germany. . 


4,614 


101 


Woollen .... 


5,949 


678 


United 






King- 






dom. . . . 


5,473 


664 


Silk 


2,432 


329 


United 






King- 






dom. . . . 


1,231 


181 



5,230 

(a) 
7,776 



Articles 1914 

Textiles: 

Mixtures 3,689 

United 
King- 
dom 3,657 

France 

Tobacco, and 
manufac- 
tures of: 
Unmanufac- 
tured . . . 
United 
States . . 
Westlndies 
Cigarettes . . . 
United 
K i n g - 
dom. . . . 
United 
States. . . 
West Indies 

Cigars.. 8,851 

United 

States... 1,388 
West Indies (a) 
Wood and manu- 
factures of: 

Lumber 34,783 

United 
States... 28,631 

Matches 1,005 

Denmark. . 463 

Staves 6,090 

United 

All other n.e.s 
United 

States. . . 



1916 
1,670 



639 
992 



7,194 14,461 



4,027 

10,434 

5,268 



4,069 2,577 



160 

(a) 



265 
1,555 



45 

2,501 
5,029 

158 
3,926 



4,707 

4,334 

2,224 

772 

4,846 

4,213 
S,87S 



441 3,292 



(a) Not separately stated. 



260 



DETAILED INFORMATION 

Exports 

Complete statistics of exports from the Danish 
West Indies were not obtainable. Exports to the 
United States in 1915 amounted to $273,625. To 
Porto Rico there were shipments worth $1,956. 
For the preceding year the total to the United 
States was $278,437, to Porto Rico $2,700. Ship- 
ments to the United States are shown, by articles, 
in the following table: 

Articles 1914 1915 Articles 1914 1915 

From St. Thomas From St. Croix 

Bay rum $125 $146 Hides $365 

Cacao 107 Household 

Hides and skins 6,723 6,641 effects 421 

Metal, old 663 Metal, old. . $93 3,086 

Margarine 375 Rum 2,449 1,511 

Paper, straw . . . 900 Skins, goat 

Rum 167 70 and sheep 875 322 

Sandalwood. ... 500 .... . Sugar 262,736 259,963 

Sugar 1,380 Tamarinds. . 136 118 

All other articles 1,978 212 

Total. . .$266,289 $265,786 



Total. . ..$12, 148 $7,839 

Grand Total . $278,437 $273,625 

MARKET FOR BOOTS AND SHOES 

By far the largest number of the shoes worn 
in the Danish West Indies at present are the 
products of American factories. Before the war 
in Europe stopped the regular visits of British, 

261 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

French, and German traveling men, many shoes 
were purchased from these countries. The repre- 
sentative of a British house still visits St. Thomas 
and St. Croix on his way to St. Kitts, Dominica, 
Guadeloupe, Barbadoes, and the other islands of 
the Lesser Antilles, but for the most part the ab- 
sence of commercial travelers from the Continent 
and the prevailing high freight rates and scarcity 
of bottoms have left the field almost entirely to 
American shoe manufacturers. 

Only one American firm, however, a New York 
manufacturing shoe wholesaler, is aggressively 
going after this business, and as a result this firm 
sells practically all the shoes that are being im- 
ported to-day. A few orders are placed through 
New York commission houses by means of cata- 
logues sent out by different factories or whole- 
salers in the United States, but there is scarcely a 
store in either St. Thomas or St. Croix that does not 
carry in stock a certain quantity of shoes bought 
from this particular manufacturing shoe wholesaler. 
There are without doubt opportunities for other 
American manufacturers to sell shoes in this market. 

There are no stores selling shoes exclusively. 

Dry goods, notions, shoes, clothing, furnishings, 

282 



DETAILED INFORMATION 

and, in some cases, groceries are all sold in a single 
"general store." With two exceptions they occupy 
small one-room buildings, with no windows in 
which to display goods and with no modern inte- 
rior fittings. Very little distinction is made in 
stock arrangement, goods of one kind overlapping 
into the next. At present the stock in most lines 
of merchandise is very low. In St. Thomas espe- 
cially every store possesses a heterogeneous col- 
lection of broken lots of shoes which were bought 
a year or two ago. In Frederiksted every one of 
the five stores that handle boots and shoes is 
owned and personally managed by a woman. 
Some idea of the extent of the business done by 
individual retailers can be obtained from the state- 
ment that two typical stores in the towns of Fred- 
eriksted and Christiansted bought American-made 
shoes in 1915 to the value of $3,000 and $3,400, 
respectively. These figures are somewhat higher 
than the average for the retail shoe business in 
the Danish West Indies. 

MARKET FOR TEXTILES 

The imports of textiles amount to slightly less 
than $250,000 annually, cotton piece goods form- 
ing 75 per cent, of the total and wearing apparel 

263 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

about 10 per cent. The remainder is made up of 
mixed goods, largely cotton and worsted dress 
fabrics of British manufacture, woollens, hats, and 
caps. Silks form a very unimportant part of the 
imports, amounting to less than one-haK of one 
per cent. The low earning power of the mass of 
the population prevents the sale of any appre- 
ciable quantity of high-priced goods, and most of 
the imports are the cheaper grades. 

The United Kingdom supplies most of the 
cotton goods required on the islands, the customs 
returns for the fiscal year ending March 31, 1914, 
showing that 63 per cent, of the cottons used were 
imported from that country. The United States, 
the leading competitor for the trade, furnished 
about 30 per cent., leaving a very small amount 
for other nations. Practically all of the finer 
grades of white goods are purchased from British 
manufacturers, as are the prints, while the United 
States furnishes a considerable portion of the 
ginghams, domestics, and khakis, and nearly all 
of the denims. 

Next in importance to cotton piece goods is 
the item of ready-to-wear apparel, the United 
Kingdom and the United States supplying about 
264 



DETAILED INFORMATION 

90 per cent, of the total, with British goods lead- 
ing by a slight margin. Included in this classifi- 
cation are all types of ready-made clothing, under- 
wear, and hosiery. The men's clothing is almost 
entirely khaki and drill, most of the fine white 
suits being made to order by local tailors. In 
women's wear suits are a very small part of the 
dealer's imports, the native women making most 
of their own garments and the white women pur- 
chasing in the United States on their trips north, 
through friends, or from catalogues issued by 
various firms specializing in mail-order business. 

OPPORTUNITIES FOR AMERICAN TRADE 

One of the principal reasons for the relatively 

small sale of American-made goods is the fact that 

there has been no consistent and sustained efiFort 

to secure the trade. No American house sends a 

traveling man to the islands, nor has there been 

adequate representation of any sort. During the 

past two years the scarcity of European-made 

goods has forced importers to seek new sources of 

supply, and attention has been directed toward 

fabrics made in the United States. In several 

instances connections have been established with 

265 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

a New York commission house that acts as pur- 
chasing agent for the importer, receiving the orders 
and searching through the market for the mer- 
chandise required. This method works out very 
satisfactorily in the buying of standard goods in 
which the price factor is the dominant feature, 
but is very undesirable in the purchase of colored 
goods and fancies, in which color, style, and pat- 
tern are the prime considerations. 

That American manufacturers have not given 
this market the attention it deserves is evident to 
anyone who makes the most perfunctory investi- 
gation of trade conditions. Lines of American 
goods that have been introduced have been 
successful and are now accepted as standards in 
their class. 

TARIFF 

In St. Thomas the import duty on all kinds of 
commodities is the same, namely, 6 per cent, of 
the invoice value of the goods placed on board the 
ship for exportation. 

In St. Croix the tariff on boots and shoes is 
nominally 123/2 P^r cent, of the invoice value, but 
certain other charges have been imposed, includ- 
ing an "exchange tax" of 4 per cent, and an extra 
266 




Photograph by William H. Kau 



ON THE SHORE, CHARLOTTE-AMALIA 




li. S. S. " ITAS« a" I\ TIIK FIXIATINO DOf'K. ST. THOMAS 




STREET IX FRONT OF GOVERNMENT IIOUSK. <HARIX»TTE-AMAI.IA. ST. 
Looking Eiist from Govern iiunt Hill towards Liiclulti's Hill 



TIloMAS 



DETAILED INFORMATION 

tax of 25 per cent., based on the invoice value plus 
the ** exchange tax." A shipment of shoes with an 
invoice value of $100 would thus pay a duty at 
the St. Croix custom houses of 123/2 P^r cent, of 
$130 ($100 plus $4 plus $26), or virtually an im- 
port duty of 1634 per cent. Whatever the country 
of origin, all shoes enter at the same rate. 

DOCKS AND OTHER PORT FACILITIES 
St. Thomas Harbor 

There are six docks from which coal can be 
taken or upon which cargoes can be discharged. 
Vessels drawing up to 31 feet can lie alongside any 
of these docks. 

There is a floating dr>' dock measuring 250 
feet long and 70 feet wide. Its maximum lifting 
capacity is 3,000 tons. Vessels which are not over- 
weight and drawing 23 feet, with a keel of 300 
feet or less, can be taken up. Tlie charge for dock- 
ing varies from 60 cents to 90 cents per ton the 
first day and for succeeding days it goes as low as 

10 cents. 

There is also a repairing slip on which small 
vessels (not over 250 tons) are taken at the same 

rates. 

The facilities for general repairing are excel- 

267 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

lent, there being many competent ship carpenters, 
sailmakers, and riggers. There is also a very good 
machine shop and foundry. 

Rock or sand ballast can be obtained for $1 
per ton f.o.b. 

There are many lighters, owned by various 
companies, and the usual charge for a lighter of 
10 to 15 tons capacity, without labor, is $5 per day. 

There are many stevedores who are always 
ready to make tenders or estimates for discharging 
or loading vessels. 

On account of the low rate of duty (6 per cent.) 
ship's stores are obtainable at nearly the same 
prices as in the United States. The principal im- 
ports at St. Thomas are coal, fuel, oil, lumber, 
and general provisions. The chief suppliers of 
coal are the West Indian Company (Ltd.), the 
St. Thomas Dock, Engineering & Coaling Com- 
pany (Ltd.), and the Hamburg- American Line. 

There are many large warehouses, both on 
the wharves and in the town. At the present time 
a warehouse in the town can be rented for $25 to 
$50 monthly. This includes the store in front and 
the private wharf in the rear. All warehouses run 
from the principal street to the water, and the 
268 



DETAILED INFORMATION 

rent varies with the size. They may be had from 
about 100 to 400 feet long and with an average 
width of 40 feet. 

Water can be suppHed either at the docks or 
from water boats in the harbor, from which it is 
pumped into the ship's tanks. Rain water is used 
exclusively, except by the West Indian Company 
(Ltd.), which recently has drilled three wells, the 
water from which will be pumped into storage 
tanks at the dock. The price at present charged 
for water is $1 per ton of 250 gallons (September, 
1916). 

The West Indian Company (Ltd.), a joint- 
stock company with a capital of $1,680,000, with 
domicile originally in Copenhagen, is the largest 
concern dealing intimately with the affairs of St. 
Thomas. Its new harbor works, coaling station, 
and complements in Longbay promise to be, when 
fully completed, the finest in the West Indies. 

Formal announcement was made in the early 
part of 1916 that the first large section of the com- 
pany's extensive harbor works had been completed. 
This covered the construction of new wharves to 
the extent of 970 meters in length and the dredg- 
ing of the water in Longbay Basin to a depth of 

269 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

9.5 meters. The wharves are provided with all 
modern conveniences for fastening a vessel 
alongside. 

Ports on St. Cboix and St. John 

In Frederiksted, the port at which all boats 
stop in St. Croix, there is no protected harbor. 
The boats anchor about a half mile from shore in 
the open roadstead, and freight is lightered each 
way. Passengers are transferred by rowboat, 
operated by natives. 

The wharf is a substantial concrete structure 
about 30 feet wide and extending 50 feet from 
shore. At this distance out, the water has a depth 
of some 12 feet. A hand-operated crane is con- 
veniently mounted on the wharf and is capable 
of lifting one ton. 

Wharfage is charged at Frederiksted at the 
following rates: Hogshead, 10 cents; tierce, 17 
cents; barrel or bag, 4 cents; case, from 1 to 3 
cents, according to size. The crane may be used 
free of charge. 

The harbor in Christiansted is well protected 
from heavy seas, but the entrance is so filled with 
coral reefs that the channel is tortuous and danger- 
ous. The boats of the Quebec Steamship Com- 
270 



DETAILED INFORMATION 

pany usually enter the harbor during the sugar- 
shipping season, but they avoid it at other times. 
Since most of the traffic between the islands is 
carried on in small sloops, the harbor is adequate, 
although if a portion of the reef were removed a 
greater degree of safety would be assured them, 
as well as larger boats. 

The steamers entering Christiansted anchor 
some distance out in the harbor, lightering all 
freight. The sloops, however, can tie up to the 
wharf, which is constructed along the same lines 
as the one at Frederiksted and equipped with a 
similar crane. 

There are no wharfage dues at Christiansted, 
but for the use of the crane there is a charge of two 
cents a bag or barrel. 

As the island of St. John has no commerce 
except that which can be carried on in small sailing 
boats, no harbors or ports have been built up 
there. This is a thing which could be done with 
great ease if commercial conditions warranted it, 
as there are many natural harbors that have deep 
water and are well protected from storms. In 
this respect, St. John is perhaps better off than 

either of the other islands. The most attractive 

271 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

of these natural harbors is Coral Bay, which, 
according to reliable authority, can be developed 
into a harbor larger than St. Thomas and superior 
to it in many respects. 

The largest settlement on St. John is at Cruz 
Bay, where there is a wharf about 12 feet wide 
and 30 feet long. The water is 8 feet deep at the 
wharf. The bay is situated in the part of the island 
nearest to St. Thomas and would afford an excel- 
lent harbor for small craft, which might ply be- 
tween the islands if St. John should ever again 
become as populous as it once was, or if it were 
to be developed as a tourist resort, for which it is 
so well suited. 

Telegraph, Newspapers, and Telephone 

St. Thomas is the headquarters of the West 
India and Panama Telegraph Company (Ltd.), 
whose duplicate cables cover all the West Indies 
and the west coast of South America, and connect 
at Jamaica with cables from Europe and the 
United States. The cable rate between New York 
and St. Thomas or St. Croix is 50 cents a word. 
Between the two islands the rate is 4 cents a word. 
All the outside news comes over these wires, and 
272 




KUAI) IN FRONT OF CHRISTIAN'S FORT AND TYPICAL ST. THOMAS CAB 
CHARLOTTE- AMALIA 




Photograph by William T. Demarest 

COLONIAL BANK AND MAIN STREET, CHARLOTTE-AMALIA, ST. THOMAS 



DETAILED INFORMATION 

the company receives approximately $4,000 yearly 
for issuing a daily news bulletin both in St. Thomas 
and St. Croix. This is copied in the papers, and 
consequently the people are posted briefly regard- 
ing world affairs as promptly as any metropolis. 

In St. Thomas there are two newspapers which 
are published daily except Sundays and holidays 
and one which is published twice a week. The 
latter, the " St. Thomas Tidende," is also the official 
government organ or gazette. 

In St. Croix there are three daily papers, Sun- 
days and holidays excepted. One is published in 
Frederiksted and two in Christiansted. All the 
papers are nearly the same size, consisting of four 
pages about 10 inches by 12. 

The French Cable Company has a cable hut 
on St. Thomas but does not give service there, as 
the West India and Panama Telegraph Company 
has the exclusive right in accordance with the 
terms of its agreement with the government. 

St. Thomas and St. Croix are provided with 
ample telephone service. A private company 
operates the system in St. Thomas, and the local 
government operates the system in St. Croix. In 
the latter island there are three central offices, 
18 273 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

one at Frederiksted, one at Christiansted, and one 
at Kings Hill, which is midway between the other 
two and serves the sugar estates and the country 
district in general. This system is in charge of 
the building inspector at Christiansted. 

There are no wireless stations on either of the 
islands. 

BUSINESS CONDITIONS 
Banks and Banking 

There are two banks in the Danish West 
Indies — the National Bank and the St. Thomas 
Savings Bank. Until very recently there was a 
third — the Colonial Bank — a British banking 
institution established in 1836. Owing principally 
to the decline in business due to the effect of the 
European war on the shipping in St. Thomas 
Harbor, this branch of the Colonial Bank was 
discontinued by the home office in London. 

The National Bank of the Danish West Indies 
is a strong institution with a main office at Char- 
lotte-Amalia, on St. Thomas, and branches at 
Frederiksted and Christiansted, on St. Croix. It 
held from the Danish Government the sole right 
to issue bank notes for use in the islands, notes 
tothe value of $250,000 .00 being in circulation in 
274 



DETAILED INFORMATION 

1916. A general commercial business is carried on, 
and loans are made against mortgages on real 
estate as security. The subscribed capital is 
$1,000,000.00 and the reserve fund amounts to 
$15,089.72. The bank has connections on the 
Continent and in the United States and may be 
utilized for collection purposes by American 
manufacturers. 

The St. Thomas Savings Bank received in 
deposits during the year ending October 20, 1915, 
the sum of $13,323.00. These comprised 1,133 
accounts. The total number of accounts carried 

by this bank in 1916 was 1,644. 

*. 

Insxtbancb 

With one exception there are no agents of 
American insurance companies or associations of 
underwriters actively engaged in soliciting busi- 
ness. The National Board of Marine Under- 
writers of New York forms the exception, this 
organization maintaining an office in St. Thomas. 
In St. Thomas there are also agencies representing 
British, Canadian, French, German, and Danish 
companies. Only British, Canadian, and Danish 
companies are established in St. Croix. Practically 
all well-known forms of insurance — fire, life, marine, 

275 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

damage to property, accident, cyclone, and tidal 
wave — are written. St. John risks are covered by 
agents in St. Thomas, no local offices being main- 
tained in the former island. Approximately 
$100,000 of life insurance is in force at present in 
St. Croix, with a lesser amount in St. Thomas and 
practically none in St. John. 

In St. Croix, where the raising and grinding of 
sugar-cane constitutes the principal business, a 
great deal of fire insurance is placed on the build- 
ings and property of the sugar estates. The 
premium receipts collected from this source alone 
by the largest insurance agent in the island 
amounted to $6,000 for the six months ending 
June 30, 1916. Since November, 1915, when a 
strike of sugar-estate laborers took place, lasting 
for several months, a certain amount of protection 
against damage from riot and civil commotion has 
been put on by estate owners. 

Several years ago an American hfe-insurance 
company established an office in St. Croix, but 
withdrew shortly afterwards before much business 
had been placed. With this exception no attempt 
seems to have been made by American companies 
to enter the life insurance field. No mortality 
276 



DETAILED INFORMATION 

statistics are available. Sanitary conditions in 
both St. Thomas and St. Croix are decidedly better 
than those existing in many tropical countries. 
Epidemics are practically unknown, although there 
are no public sanitary works of any description. 

It is believed that there is an opportunity for 
at least one strong life-insurance company and at 
least one strong fire-insurance company from the 
United States to establish an agency at St. Thomas 
and St. Croix, the latter offering the most attrac- 
tive field at the present time. 

Monopolistic Drug Stores 

Some of the most curious facts connected with 
business on the islands have to do with the phar- 
macies. C. S. Butler and E. G. Hakansson write in 
the United States Naval Bulletin: 

"There are three grades of diplomas issued 
from the Danish College of Pharmacy. Only 
pharmacists rated one or two are qualified for 
the privilege of running a drug store. The grade 
of diploma, number of years of experience, pro- 
fessional merits and scientific work done are the 
main factors to determine a choice. The privilege 
of having a drug store is granted for a lifetime to 

the successful candidate. He pays no tax for this 

277 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

monopoly and is independent of the Government 
in his business. He may resign at any time, with 
the permission of the authorities, and his successor, 
appointed in a similar manner, is obliged to buy 
his stock and place of business. This form of drug 
store is called *real,' and is the only kind estab- 
lished since 1830. Before this year the privilege 
of leasing drug stores did not return to the Govern- 
ment until the death or resignation of the appointee, 
but the privilege was his personal right, which he 
could sell at any time to any qualified pharmacist 
for any price he could get. These drug stores are 
called * personal' and were not changed to 'real* 
when the new law went into eflFect. 

"There are three drug stores in the Virgin 
Islands, one in each of the three towns. The ones 
in Charlotte- Amalia and Christiansted are *real;* 
the one in Fredericksted is * personal.' The 
history of Apothecary Hall, in St. Thomas, illus- 
trates the system. It was established about 1830 
and kept by the successful pharmacist until 1883, 
when he transferred it to his two sons and retired, 
spending the remainder of his days in a suburb of 
Copenhagen, in his magnificent villa, * St. Thomas,' 
entertaining royalty and nobility. His sons man- 
278 



DETAILED INFORMATION 

aged the business up to 1913, when the present 
owner bought it for $76,000." 

CLIMATE AND RAINFALL 

For the year ending June 30, 1915, the records 
furnished in the annual report of Dr. Longfield 
Smith, director of the colonial agricultural experi- 
ment station in St. Croix, show that the coolest 
weeks during the period were January 18 to 31, 
with a maximum temperature of 83° F. and a 
minimum of Q5° F., and March 8 to 14, maximum 
82° F. and minimum 66° F. The hottest weeks 
were August 31 to September 6, maximum 91° F., 
minimum 76° F., and September 7 to 13, maximum 
92° F., minimum 74° F. 

No records of rainfall are available for any of 
the islands except St. Croix. On that island, 
according to the report of the experiment station, 
the average rainfall for the previous 63 years was 
375.1 lines (31.26 inches), and the records show 
that there has been no diminution or alteration 
of distribution during that period. The heaviest 
rainfall occurs in May and again in September 
and October. 

There are periods when the rainfall is less than 
a maximimi sugar crop requires and irrigation 

279 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

would be desirable. Abundant opportunities exist 
for the impounding of water for this purpose by 
the construction of dams across the narrow en- 
trances of some of the small valleys debouching 
on the fertile plains of the south. The relatively 
small expense involved would be well repaid by 
the assurance of sufficient water during the occa- 
sional dry periods and the resultant more uniform 
yield of cane. 

AGRICULTURE AND ALLIED INTERESTS 

Sugab-Cane 

The largest amount of sugar that has been 
exported in the last 15 years was in 1903, when 
19,275 short tons were taken from the islands. 
The amount for 1915 was but 4,500 tons, though 
in 1916 the total was much larger. 

The director of the agricultural experiment 
station has been endeavoring to develop a cane 
that will be better suited to the soil and climatic 
conditions than any of the varieties now being 
grown. Much progress has been made in this direc- 
tion, though it is too early yet to publish the results. 

Cotton 

In 1913 there were some 2,000 acres devoted 

to sea-island cotton, but owing to the appearance 

of insect pests in the fields, and more especially 
280 



DETAILED INFORMATION 

to the various difficulties experienced as a result 
of the European war, financial loss was threatened, 
and since that year cotton raising has been tem- 
porarily abandoned. That it will ultimately 
become next in importance to cane, however, is 
the belief of all who have been connected with 
it in the past. 

GOVERNMENT AND EDUCATION 

Under the rule of Denmark the executive 

power was in the hands of a colonial governor 

appointed by the Crown. The executive resided 

on the island of St. Thomas for six months of the 

year — from October 1 to March 31 — and in the 

sister colony of St. Croix for the other six months. 

The islands were divided into two political parts, 

the first consisting of St. Thomas and St. John, 

and the second of St. Croix. Legislative power 

was vested in two distinct colonial councils, the 

seat of one being in Christians ted, the capital of 

St. Croix, and of the other in Charlotte-Amalia. 

In the latter island the council was composed of 

11 members — 4 nominated by the Crown and 

7 elected, 4 from the town of Charlotte-Amalia, 

2 from the island of St. John, and 1 from the 

country district of St. Thomas. The colonial 

281 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

council of St. Croix was made up of 18 members — 
5 nominated by the Crown and 13 chosen by the 

electorate. 

The qualifications for voters were based on two 
cardinal points: First, the applicant must own 
real estate yielding a monthly income of $5, or 
else his personal income must be $300 per year; 
and, second, he must be of unblemished character. 

The government revenues were raised largely 
by import duties, export duties on sugar, trade 
and lamp taxes, vehicle taxes, boat taxes, real 
estate taxes, tonnage fees, and a head tax on all 
persons leaving St. Thomas for other countries. 

Education is compulsory from the ages of 7 to 
13. Under the able supervision of the school 
director, Mr. O. Rubner-Peterson, the school 
system was gradually extended during the few 
years before the transfer of the islands, new build- 
ings opened, and new courses instituted. Instruc- 
tion is free in all cases, and all but a few of the 
textbooks are furnished by the government. 
During the later years of instruction the aim is 
to teach subjects of a decidedly practical nature. 
Both EngHsh and Danish are taught, but the 
latter has never been made compulsory, and the 
282 



DETAILED INFORMATION 

native preference for English has not been inter- 
fered with. Except among oflScials and soldiers 
and for street signs and notices, Danish is little 
used. 

In 1916, 3,500 pupils were enrolled in all grades. 
Two sessions were held six days in the week, the 
first session from 8 to 11 in the morning, the second 
from 1 to 4 in the afternoon. The high-school 
masters in St. Croix were Danes, the remainder 
of the teachers in all three islands being natives 
who have been given a course of training in Danish 
at Copenhagen, or, in some cases, teachers obtained 
from the neighboring British island of Antigua. 
The salary of grammar-school teachers was $30 
per month and that of high-school teachers was 
$60 per month for 12 months in the year. Twenty 
teachers made up the regular staff, and these met 
different classes at the morning and afternoon 
sessions. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

The following works have been consulted by 
the authors in the preparation of this volume: 

Anonymous: "West Indian Sketch Book." London, 
1834, 2 Vols. A sketchy and highly interesting nar- 
rative of the life and customs of the British Virgin 
Island of Tortola in the early nmeteenth century, 
with a brief mention of some of the other Lesser 

Antilles. 

Aspinall, Algernon E.: "Pocket Guide to the West 
Indies." London, 1914. A general guide to the West 
Indies which at times is very inaccurate. 

Booy, Theodoor de: "Archaeological Investigations in 
the Virgin Islands." Scientific American Supplement 
No. 2180, October 13, 1917. Tells of the problems 
of the archeologist in search of Indian remains on 
the Virgin Islands of the United States. 

Booy, Theodoor de: "The Virgin Islands of the United 
States." Geographical Review, Vol. iv, No. 5, 
November, 1917. A general account of the newly 
acquired Virgin Islands of the United States. 

Brock, H. G., P. S. Smith, W. A. Tucker: "The Danish 
West Indies, Their Resources and Commercial Im- 
284 \ 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

portance." Department of Commerce of the United 
States, Special Agents Series, No. 129. Washington, 
D. C, 1917. Contains valuable information as to 
the resources and trade possibilities of these islands 
and a good description of the harbor. 

Butler, C. S. and E. G. Hakansson: "Some First Im- 
pressions of the West Indies." The United States 
Medical Bulletin, October, 1917. An informing article, 
written from the medical point of view. 

Cleland, Herdman F.: "CuraQao, a Losing Colonial 
Venture." Bulletin of the American Geographical 
Society, Vol. xli. No. 3, 1909. A description of the 
island of Curagao with figures showing the cost of 
this colony to the Netherlands. 

Dupontes, P. C. : " Les Petites Antilles." Paris (N. D.) . 
A book containing general geographical and political 
information of the Lesser Antilles with data pertain- 
ing to their resources, imports, exports, et cetera. 

Edwards, Bryan : "History of the British West Indies," 
fourth edition, London, 1807. 3 Vols. An oft-con- 
sulted history of the West Indies and of the Island 
of Santo Domingo. 

Emerson, Guy: "Virgin Islands of the United States." 
South American, Vol. v. No. 8, New York, June, 
1917. Contains economic information on the Virgin 
Islands. 

Hakluyt, Richard: "Historic of the West Indies." 

285 



THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 

London 1625. Of prime interest to the historical 
student of the Antilles. 

Harris, Garrard: "The West Indies as an Export 
Field." Department of Commerce of United States, 
Special Agents Series, No. 141, Washington, D. C., 
1917. A compilation of trade figures on the West 
Indies. 

Irving, Washington: "Life and Voyages of Christopher 
Columbus." The best general work on the discovery 
and conquest of the West Indies. 

Knox, John P.: "Historical Account of St. Thomas, 
W. I." New York, 1852. Probably the most com- 
plete general description of St. Thomas published. 

Martyr, Peter: "Letters to Ascanius Sphorcia." Early 
narratives of the newly discovered West Indies. 

National Geographical Society: "An American Gibral- 
tar." National Geographic Magazine, Vol. xxx. 
No. 1. Gives measurements of the Virgin Islands of 
the United States. 

Taylor, C. E. : " Leaflets from the Danish West Indies." 
London, 1888. An interesting guide and hand-book 
of St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix. 

Vaux, Patrick: "A Forgotten West Indian Island." 
United Empire, Vol. viii, N. S. February, 1917. 
One of the few descriptions that can be found of the 
Island of Anegada. 

Verrill, A. Hyatt: "A Book of the West Indies." 
286 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

New York, 1917. A valuable and well-written guide- 
book of the West Indies. 

Westergaard, Waldemar: "The Danish West Indies 
Under Company Rule." New York, 1917. The only 
scholarly work which goes into the history of these 
islands during the period from 1671 up to 1764 in 
full detail. 

U. S. Hydrographic Office: "West India Pilot," Vol. 
ii, No. 129. Washington, D. C, 1914. A guide to 
mariners, which contains a great deal of geographical 
information. 



INDEX 



Aborigines, 34, 152 

Amiens, treaty of, restores Virgia 

Islands to Denmark, 45 
Anegada, 242, 244 
Annaberg, 168 
Arawak tribes, 36 
Archeological investigations, 34-36, 

102-107, 152, 153, 154, 163, 225- 

230, 244 
Audain, the story of, 239 
Ayay, Indian name for Santa Cruz, 

37 

Banks and Banking, 274, 275 
Bassin (Christiansted), St. Croix,214 
Bay rum, 145, 148, 149 
Blackbeard's Castle, 82 
Bluebeard's Castle, 59, 86 
Bourdeaux Mountain, 135 
Botany Bay, St. Thomas, 121 
Brandenburg, Duchy of, operates 

factory on St. Thomas, 51, 52 
Bredal, Governor Erik, 124, 125 
Brewer's Bay, St. Thomas, 121 
British Virgin Islands, history, 231 ; 
area and population, 233; climate, 
233; Jost Van Dyke, 234; trade. 
233; Tortola, 234; geology, 235; 
products, 235; coconut groves, 
236; Road Harbor, 236; Road- 
town, 237; communication with 
Charlotte- Amalia, 237; excursions 
on Tortola, 239-240 ; Virgin Gorda, 
240; Anegada, 242 
Broom-corn, opportunity for, 146 
Brun, Minister, signa transfer of 

Danish West Indies, 24 
Buccaneers, 59, 83-86, 231, 237, 244 
Buck Island Lighthouse, 58 
Biilowminde, St. Croix, 24 
Burials, Indian, 105, 106 



Cable, submarine, 97, 119, 272 

Camel Mountain, 135 

"Caneelboom," 137 

Caroline Estate, St. John, 129, 133 

Cattle raising, 150 

Cemeteries, care of, 116 

Charles V of Spain, 42 

Charlotte- Amalia approach to, 58; 
signal station, 60; servants, 71; 
population, 71; Moravian Church, 
77; Lutherian Church, 77; Dutch 
Reformed Church, 78; Huguenot 
Church, 79; Jewish Church, 79; 
Roman Catholic Church, 79; 
schools, 79; streets, 80; govern- 
ment oflSces, 82; Christian's Fort, 
85; Saluting Battery, 89; Christ- 
mas and New Year's Day, 92, 93; 
steamship lines, 94; docks, 95; 
telegraph and cable, 96; hotels, 
252, 253; cooking, 253 

Christian IX, King, Proclamation 
announcing failure of treaty of 
1867, 20-22 

Christiansted, St. Croix, 211; Sophia 
Frederika Fort, 215; dangerous 
navigation, 45 

Churches in Charlotte-Amalia, 77-79 

Citizenship, provision as to, for 
inhabitants of former Danish West 
Indies, 27 

Climate, 62, 278, 279 

Coconut groves, 236 

Collarstones, 35 

Columbus, Christopher, 34, 37-40, 
226 

Conch shells as grave ornaments, 
117 

Congo Cay as a fisherman's resort, 
152 

Cooking, native, 253 

289 



INDEX 



Coral Harbor Bay, St. John, 124 

Coral Bay, St. John, 128, 130-132, 
136, 138, 139, 166 

Cotton, 209, 280 

Crab Island, 50, 124 

Cruger, Nicholas, employer of Alex- 
ander Hamilton, 204, 219 

Cruz Bay, St. John, 137, 141 

Cuba. 16, 22 

Curagao and the Panama Canal, 
32 

Danish West Indies, history of trans- 
fer, 16; date of transfer, 16, 24; 
treaty of 1867 for sale of, 17; 
proclamation of sale of in 1867, 
17-19; lapse of treaty of 1867, 20; 
Germany and, 23; treaty of 1902, 
23; offer of 1906 for, 23; vote of 
inhabitants, 24; ceremony of 
transfer, 24 

Danish West India and Guinea 
Company, purchase St. Croix, 44; 
claim St. Thomas, 47; supply 
slaves to St. Thomas, 51 

Danish West India Company, 51, 
133, 184, 187, 189 

Dannebrog, replaced by Stars and 
Stripes, 24-26 

Denmark takes possession of St. 
Crok, 186 

De Vaugalan, Commander of French 
expedition to St. Croix, 178 

Docks at Charlotte-Amalia, 95 

Drake, Sir Francis. 43 

"Drowned Island" (Anegada), 243 

Drug stores, 277 

Duerloo, Peter, 129 

Duerloo Estate, St. John, 129 

Earthquake, 69, 206 

East End settlement, 167 

Education, 281-283 

Eleven thousand Virgins, 40 

Emancipation of slaves in West 
Indies, 45, 191 

Emmaus, Moravian Mission Sta- 
tion, 142, 166 

Excursions on St. Thomas, 98 

290 



Figure-heads at Krum Bay, 120 
Fire in a cane field, 197. 222 
Fishing. Ill, 150, 151. 159 
Flanagan Passage, 233 
Frederiksted, 211 
French West India Company, 183 
Furniture, antique, 82. 168, 170, 220 

"Garden of the Antilles," 231 

Government, 281 

"Graveyard of ships," 119 

Great Britain in the West Indies, 30 

Guadaloupe, 176 

Guantanamo, Cuba. 32 

Hamilton, Alexander. 204, 218 
Hans Lollik, 237 
Hassel Island, 60. 61, 64 
Havensicht, on St. Croix, 224 
Heligoland, exchanged for Virgin 

Islands. 85 
Hotel opportunities, 158, 171, 253, 

254 
Hunting, 112, 159. 224, 239 
Hurricanes, 61, 65-68. 115, 138, 141, 

161, 168, 204, 206, 218 

Imports, 256-261 

Insurance, 275, 276 

Irving, Washington, quotation from, 

37 
Iversen, Jorgen. Governor of St. 

Thomas, 48, 49, 50 

Jamaica, 31, 35, 36 

K. C. Bay, 137, 170 
Kitchen-middens, 104 
Krum Bay, 107, 118, 119 

Labor difficulties on St. Croix. 190- 

199 
Labor Union at Charlotte-Amalia, 

72; on St. Crok, 197 
Lansing, Secretary of State, signs 

transfer of Danish West Indies, 

24; reports on islands, 28 



INDEX 



Leinster Bay, 168 

Leeward Islands, 123, 237 

Little Cinnamon Bay, St. John, 129, 

130 
Lovango Cay, 134 
Lutheran pastor resides in fort, 49 
Lutheran, the official Church of the 

Danish Government, 77 

Magens Bay, 101, 102, 103, 104, 106 
Mahogany furniture, 82, 168, 170, 

221 
Malta, Knights of, buy St. Croix, 

181, 182 
Manchineel apples, 173, 174 
Masonic Lodge, 138, 168 
Martinique, 131 

Monopolistic drug store, 277, 278 
Monroe Doctrine and the transfer 

of Danish West Indies, 25 
Moravians, 77, 117, 141, 146, 166 
Museum of the American Indians, 

34, 36, 42, 101, 227 

Narrows, the, 134 
Naval base in the West Indies, 32 
Navigation, dangerous, 134 
Negro insurrection, 127, 194, 232 
Netherlands, possessions of, in West 

Indies, 30, 31, 32, 33 
Nevis, 131 
Newspapers, 75, 273 
Niesky Mission Station, 117 
None-such ("Vigilant"), story of, 216 

Oldendorp and the aboriginies of 

Virgin Islands, 41 
Oliver, Rear Admiral James H., first 

governor of the Virgin Islands, 29 
Oysters, growing in trees, 226 

Panama Canal, safeguarding the, 32, 

33 
Parforce Estate, 165 
Petroglypha, 153-156, 162-165 
Pirates, 39, 86, 239 
Porto Rico, 26, 28, 35, 106, 122, 172, 

182; journey to St. Thomas from, 

54 



Pottery, pre-Columbian, 36 
Primitive races of the Virgin Islands, 

35 
Primitive sugar mill, 157 
Privateer Bay, 138 
Privateers, 141, 217, 237 

Rainfall, 63, 141, 202, 279 
Raleigh, Su- Walter, 173 
Reconciling Court, 76 
Reef Bay, 140, 160 
Roadtown, Tortola, 237 
Roosevelt, President, and treaty of 
1902, 23 

Sail Rock and the French frigate, 55 

St. Croix, sentiment as to transfer, 
26; aboriginies, 34; purchase by 
Dutch West India and Guinea 
Co., 44; opened to commerce, 44 
colonization, 44; history, 172-189 
came into possession of Denmark, 
186; slave revolutions, 194-197 
labor union, 197; location, 201 
physical features, 201; rainfall 
202; geology, 202; climate, 203 
hurricanes, 204-206; earthquake; 
206; agriculture, 207; sugar mills 
208; cotton, 209; Christiansted, 
211; Frederiksted, 211; roads, 221 
hunting, 224; "Garden of the 
Antilles," 231; forts, 270 

St. Christopher, 176, 177 

St. Eustatius, 177 

St. John, aborigines, 35; trade, 44; 
colonization, 44; Caroline Estate, 
129, 133; Little Cinnamon Bay, 
129, 130; slave revolt, 127-133; 
Coral Bay, 128, 130, 131, 138; 
Duerloo Estate, 129; dangerous 
navigation, 134; location, 134; 
geology, 135; drainage, 135; Camel 
Mountain, 135; area, 135; ship- 
ping, 136; Cruz Bay, 137, 146; 
K. C. Bay, 137; Cinnamon Bay, 
137; Dennis Bay, 138; East End 
settlement, 138, 167; Privateer 
Bay, 139; Masonic Lodge, 138, 
168; Reef Bay, 140, 160, 165; 

S91 



INDEX 



temperature, 141; rainfall, 141; 
health conditions, 142; popula- 
tion, 144; bay rum, 145; charcoal, 
147, 148, 149; fishing, 150-152; 
petroglyphs, 163, 162; sugar, 157; 
possibilities, 158, 171; Reef Bay 
waterfall, 161; Annaberg, 168; 
Leinster Bay, 168; sugar factory, 
ruins, 170; forts, 271 

St. Martins, 177 

St. Thomas, sentiment as to trans- 
fer, 26; aborigines, 35; trade, 44, 
97; first Europeans, 44, 47; first 
colonists, 48; Charlotte- Amalia, 
49; location, 53, 54; physical 
features, 55; area, 56; harbor, 67; 
Cowell's Battery, 59, 60; climate, 
62; newspapers, 74; courts, 76; 
characteristics of people, 76; 
Moravian Brethren, 77; churches, 
77-79; Blackbeard's Castle, 82, 
108, 109, 110; Bluebeard's Castle, 
87; Ma Folic Estate, 99; excur- 
sions on, 98; Magens Bay, 101, 
102, 103, 104, 106; "Eenigheit," 
107; Krum Bay, 107, 118, 119; 
New Hemhut Mission, 108-110; 
Tutu Estate, 110; Water Bay, 111 ; 
Windberg, 114; Mandal Estate, 
115; graveyard, 117; Lovenlimd, 
116; Niesky Mission station, 117; 
submarine cable, 118; the "grave- 
yard of ships," 119; figure-heads at 
Krum Bay, 120; Mosquito Bay, 
121; Brewer's Bay, 121; Botany 
Bay, 121; "cha-chas," 122; settle- 
ment, 124; ports, 267 

San Juan, Porto Rico, 74 

Santa Anna, General, 82 

Santo Domingo, 35, 107 

Schmidt, Erik, 47 

Seward, Secretary of State, 16, 20 

Siamese man of war, greeting to, 60 

Signal Station at Charlotte-Amalia, 
60 

Slavery, 45, 62, 115, 122, 127-133, 
169, 190-194 

Smugglers, 169 

Sophia Frederika Fort, Christian- 
sted, 45 

292 



Stevedores at Charlotte-Amalia, 72 

Steamship lines touching at Char- 
lotte-Amalia, 95 

Stars and Stripes replace Danne- 
brog, 24, 25 

Sugar-cane, 53, 109, 146, 207, 208, 
238, 281; watch houses, 222; fire in 
a cane field, 222; production, 280 

Sumner, Charles, defends treaty of 
1867, 20 

Swallowing stick, 35 

Tariff, 267 

Tappus (early name of Charlotte- 
Amalia), 70 

Teach, John (Blackbeard), 82 

Telephone, 273 

Telegraph and cable, 96, 272 

Thatch Cay, 113, 135, 168 

Thormohlen, rents St. Thomas from 
Denmark, 62 

Tobacco on St. Thomas, 50 

Tortola, 124, 130, 133, 140, 169, 187, 
234, 237 

Tourist, hints for the, 247; clothing, 
247-249; transportation, 249-252; 
invalid resorts, 252 

Trade of St. Thomas, 97 

Transportation between the islands, 
28, 252; to the islands, 249-252 

Turpentine tree, 115 

Van Dyke, Jost, 234 

Venezuela's islands in the West 
Indies, 15 

"Vigilant," story of the, 217 

Virgin Gorda, 40, 240, 241 

Virgin Islands, area and population, 
27; commercial value of, 28; 
temporary government, 29; cus- 
toms, 30; history, 34; named by 
Columbus, 40; captured by Brit- 
ish, 46 

Virgin Passage, 33 

Watch houses in cane fields, 222 
Windward Passage, 32 

Yachting, 239 






5/nc^, 



■€f^ 



1959 



